GASTON COUNTY, N.C.,None — A man will spend more than 20 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a 17-year-old girl.
Howard Pasour pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder, habitual DWI and two counts of serious injury by vehicle. The plea will send Pasour to prison for 21 years.
Pasour, 29, crossed the center line of Dallas-Cherryville Highway on July 25 and struck another car head-on. He had alcohol and other impairing substances in his blood, the district attorney said.
Laura Fortenberry, 17, was a front-seat passenger in that car and was killed in the crash. Two of Fortenberry's friends were also in the car.
In court Monday, Christi Ifferman tearfully said her daughter, Tori, survived the accident but lost her short-term memory.
"We had to tell her every day about this accident and relive this," Ifferman said. "She asked why her friend Laura had not been to see her."
A slideshow of photos of Laura was shown in the courtroom.
"(It) shows her personality and what he took from me," Michelle Armstrong, the teen's mother, said.
Pasour faced his victims' family and friends and apologized.
"Please accept my deepest and most sincere apologies," he said.
Still, Armstrong said she saw no remorse.
"I don't see any remorse on his face. I don't feel like he is sorry," she said. "I feel he is sorry that he got caught."
"Sorry is not going to get my best friend back," Megan Holland said.
Pasour has three previous driving while impaired convictions, one in 2003 and two in September 2009.
Since her daughter's death, Armstrong has been working with Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, on Laura's Law, a proposal to make stricter laws to keep drunken drivers off the roads and behind bars.
PDF: Laura's Law
Previous Stories: February 8, 2011: Laura's Law Seeks Tougher Penalties For DWI Offenders January 31, 2011: Lawmaker To Push For Stiffer Drunk Driving Laws August 10, 2010: Volunteers Build Wheelchair Ramp For Teen Hurt In Crash August 4, 2010: Judge: Statewide DWI Courts Could Curb Repeat Offenses July 29, 2010: Lawmaker: Repeat DWI Offender Shows Holes In System July 27, 2010: Judge Sets Bond At $4M For Driver In Fatal Crash July 26, 2010: Man Charged With Second-Degree Murder In Crash