HICKORY, N.C.,None — A man who hit and killed a student from Appalachian State University made an emotional plea for forgiveness on Tuesday.
Daniel Whisnant was 18 years old when he hit Charlie Sybrant and her friend while they were walking to get gas after running out while driving through Hickory.
They were both hit by the teenage driver, who was driving drunk and did not stop to help.
"I wish I could take it back," Whisnant said.
On Tuesday, he faced Sybrant's parents. Fighting back tears, he first apologized and then asked them to forgive him for hitting and killing their 22-year-old daughter.
"I want forgiveness but I feel like you guys hate (me) because of what happened," he said.
Police pulled Whisnant over in Valdese, more than 10 miles away from the accident scene. They said his car was badly damaged, and that his blood-alcohol level tested well above the legal limit at .12.
Michael Sybrant, the victim's father, told the judge Tuesday that for more than two years, Whisnant has maintained that he knew he hit something that night but not somebody. It is a story Sybrant said he doesn't believe.
"If he wants people to forgive him he should stand up and look you in the eye and tell the truth," Michael Sybrant said.
Whisnant admitted in court Tuesday that he hit Charlie Sybrant and her friend, who survived the accident, but also said at the time of the wreck he didn't know it was a person.
"Just a little forgiveness is all I ask for," he said.
"I have been raised that everyone deserves forgiveness," Dee Sybrant, the victim's mother, said. "I said he would have to ask for it and he did, and there will come a time when I can forgive him."
The judge sentenced Whisnant to three to four and a half years in prison. The judge also granted the family's request that the car Whisnant drove the night of the crash be turned over to a group that will show it to high school students as a warning about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Previous Stories: November 5, 2009: Teen Accused In Deadly Hickory Hit-And-Run Appears In Court