UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A Mount Pleasant woman was sentenced to one-and-a-half to five years in prison on Monday for a fatal accident in 2007.

Jennifer Madden had told police that she wasn’t the driver in a fatal accident but DNA evidence contradicted that.

Madden, 26, left the courtroom in handcuffs and said goodbye to her family and friends after just learning her sentence in the death of Steven Long of Lancaster County.

“He had many, many friends, and he was just a fine young man,” said his mother Barbara Richards.

Long’s family traveled to Uniontown to hear the ruling by Judge Steven Leskinen who said he was using Madden as an example of the dangers of driving drunk.

“In Miss Madden's case, this was her second offense of DUI,” said Nancy Vernon, Fayette County district attorney.

Investigators said Madden and Long had left a bar together on Feb. 23, 2007. Although Madden told officers she was the passenger in the car accident on Route 40 in Menallen Township, DNA evidence from the airbags revealed that she was actually behind the wheel.

In the courtroom, Madden asked Long's family for forgiveness.

“I never said I would not forgive her. I forgave her. Absolutely,” said Richards.

Long’s family said his death should serve as a lesson to others.

“Don't drink and drive. It's as simple as that. I think Jennifer Madden made a very bad decision that night getting in the car with too much to drink and unfortunately, my son lost his life,” said Richards.