Man Sentenced In Rice County Fatal Accident

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) -- A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for a drunken driving accident that killed a girl he was dating in Rice County.

Mitchell Bongers pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in the death of 20-year-old Brittney Landsverk.

Bongers was driving April 2, 2010 when the car ended up in the Cannon River north of Faribault.

Bongers and two other passengers escaped, but Landsverk slipped into the river as she was being rescued and drowned. Her body was recovered from the river 87 days later.

The Faribault Daily News reports he was sentenced to 50 months in prison Tuesday. He was also ordered to undergo chemical dependency treatment and counseling services.

Seventeen people gave victim impact statements during the sentencing.

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