By JIM HICKEY

The teenage girl who drove the car last June that claimed the life of her passenger, 18-year-old Jena Pothier, was sentenced to a year in jail on Friday morning by an Edgartown district court judge as part of a plea bargain with the Cape and Islands district attorney.

Kelly McCarron, 18, pleaded guilty to a charge of motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol; all other criminal charges against her were dismissed.

Ms. McCarron also was found responsible on four civil infractions: speeding, marked lanes violation, failure to wear a safety belt and improper tire depth.

In an emotional courtroom that included the reading of a lengthy victim statement from Ms. Pothier’s parents, Judge Gregory Williams agreed to the plea bargain and sentenced Ms. McCarron to two and a half years in the Barnstable house of correction with one year served, and the balance suspended. For five years after her release from prison she will be on probation.

As part of the plea agreement, Ms. McCarron also agreed to participate in the prosecution of anyone who might have provided alcohol to her and Ms. Pothier on the day of the accident, June 11, 2009.

“Jena will never have her own apartment, a degree, a real job, get married, have a child; her dad will never give her hand in marriage. We all lost Jena’s future that night she died, and ours will never be the same,” said a grief counselor for the family, reading the victim statement from David and Terry Pothier, Jena’s parents, who were present in the courtroom with other family members. “We are lost without our family unit, we are incomplete. We all find it’s hard to carry on, but we know we must”

After the sentencing, Ms. McCarron was handcuffed and placed into custody.

Judge Williams offered his condolences to the Pothier family.

“There is nothing I can say to ease the immeasurable suffering you have gone through. I only can say that I wish you some measure of peace,” he said.

A complete story about the disposition of the case and sentencing will appear in the Friday Gazette next Friday.