Kathryn Elizabeth Hetrick, a teenage drunk driver responsible for the death of local hip-hop artist Abay Lattin last year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The 18-year-old former Arizona State University student also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault in connection with the fatal car accident last September in Tempe that killed Lattin (who performed with the group Silver Medallion under the stage name of Carnegie).
And to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the accident as a part of a plea agreement with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office that dismissed a second aggravated-assault charge.
Hetrick was leaving an early-morning party at the Quadrangles apartment complex near ASU when she plowed her Ford Expedition into the sedan carrying Lattin and another hip-hop artist. She was reportedly intoxicated when questioned by Tempe Police officials.
Hetrick was turned over to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office afterward and is currently cooling her heels in custody while awaiting sentencing on July 15.
According to Jerry Cobb, spokesman for the County Attorney's Office, she is facing up to eight years for the aggravated assault charge and 12.5 years for the manslaughter charge.
Friends and collaborators of Lattin declined to comment on the news of Hetrick's conviction yesterday.
