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Moscow student sentenced to 2 1/2 years for causing car crash

Also, her driving license will be suspended for three years after her release from prison

MOSCOW, April 18 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow's Dorogomilovsky court on Wednesday sentenced a student to 2.5 years for a large road accident in Kutuzovsky Avenue last year.

The court has ruled that the sentence is reduced by the time Kristina Asafova served in the remand prison since October 2012. Asafova was fined 500,000 as compensation to former VTB president Andrei Bolotov, who lost his leg in the car crash. The court did not grant his eight-million-rouble suit against Asafova to compensate the cost of treatment.

According to the verdict, "the body of aggravating and mitigating circumstances shows that Asafova can only be corrected in the condition of custodial restraint."

The court noted Asafova's state of alcoholic intoxication at 1.23 promille and speeding. Despite the mitigating circumstances, such as Asafova's having a small child to support and absence of criminal convictions, the court meted out the punishment demanded by the prosecutor.

Also, her driving license will be suspended for three years after her release from prison.

The verdict can been appealed within ten days. Asafova's mother told reporters she would exercise that right.

Kristina Asafova, a fifth-year student at the Russian State University for the Humanities, was accused of drunk driving, causing collision with a motorcycle, driving into oncoming lane and ramming several cars on October 20, 2012. Six cars were damaged, and leg amputation surgery had to be performed on the motorcyclist.

At the trial, the defendant asked the court not to put her in jail and give her a suspended sentence. She said she had repented her actions, and sent letters and telegrams with her apologies to the injured parties. She also said her daughter was just 18 months and that she had spent about six months in remand prison.