The 20-year-old woman accused in the hit-and-run crash that killed a South Beach chef accepted a plea deal Wednesday.
Karlie Tomica pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. She will serve four years in prison, then two years of house arrest and fifteen years of probation, according to her plea deal.
Tomica will also serve a lifetime driving ban, and must make a donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Stefano Riccioletti's birthday in the amount equal to what his age would have been.
"I killed him that morning. I had been drinking while I was at work. I got very drunk. I hit him with my car and I killed him," she said in court. "Driving away and leaving him to die was inexcusable."
Video: Tomica reads apology in court
Police said Tomica hit Riccioletti, the executive chef at Terrazza at the Shore Club, after leaving work on January 28. According to court documents, she had a blood alcohol content between 0.208 and 0.225 when her blood was drawn two hours after the crash.
Police credited a Good Samaritan who called 911 and followed the car that hit Riccioletti with helping them make an arrest.
"I know that my actions utterly shattered the hearts of his wife, his children, his friends, and all who knew him," said Tomica.
The family of Riccioletti approved the terms of the plea deal.
"What will you do with this opportunity?" asked Patrizia Pesce, Riccioletti's ex-wife. "Will you waste it, or will you dedicate your life to improving the life of others and not destroying them?"
Prosecutor Warren Eth said Riccioletti's family indicated that the plea deal wasn't about revenge but instead giving Tomica a future.
That's what guided the state of Florida to this resolution," he said.
Tomica is expected to serve as a witness in a civil suit the family filed against Nikki Beach Club, where she worked as a part-time bartender.
"We're going to take her testimony. We're going to get to the bottom of that," said Richard Della Fera, the attorney for Nikki Beach Club. "As I've said, we've reviewed the videotape of her at that bar. We haven't seen any evidence of her drinking alcohol at that bar."
The deal needed to be approved Wednesday because Tomica turns 21 on Aug. 11 and then wouldn't have been able to be sentenced as a youthful offender.