Driver Gets One Year of Jail Time for Drunk Driving Accident

As the result of his careless drunken driving a TV and movie editor will spend one year in jail for killing a 72-year-old man.

Mark David Skillingberg, who is known for working on "The Vampire Diaries" and "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle," pleaded no contest to one count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. The accident, which happened on Oct. 27, 2009, took place on the west side of Los Angeles. At the time Skilllingberg crashed into the driver's side door of Gebregziabher Gabremadhin, killing him instantaneously. When officials with the Los Angeles police department showed up they found him to have a blood-alcohol content that was twice the legal limit, and they discovered that he had been driving 20 miles above the posted speed limit as well.

Family and friends of the victim filled the courtroom to hear the verdict of Skillingberg's case. They hoped for a harsher punishment for the loss of their friend, an immigrant from Ethiopia. His daughter told the judge in a plea for harsher punishment, that "This man just snatched my dad from my life. If you kill a person, you should spend more than a few months in jail."

Prior to this DUI accident the director had no criminal record. Investigators determined that Skillingberg was attempting to make an illegal U-turn when he struck the victim's vehicle.

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