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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Audrey Sutton, the woman charged with killing a passenger in a drunken driving wreck last year, pleaded guilty Wednesday to homicide by vehicle and related charges.</p><p>Sutton, 22, of Courtdale, saw three summary traffic offenses dropped in exchange for her guilty plea. Luzerne County Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. accepted Sutton&#8217;s plea and set sentencing for Oct. 13. She faces a mandatory minimum of three years and a maximum of 17 years in prison, Burke said.</p><p>Sutton reportedly told police she had been drinking and would likely have marijuana in her system in the aftermath of the fatal Oct. 23 crash. Police say the wreck occurred as she tried to round a curve on East Main Street in Edwardsville and slid toward Jackson Street.</p><p>The out-of-control vehicle then struck a concrete stoop in front of a building at Jackson and Main streets, according to police.</p><p>Casey Michalek, 21, of Kingston, who was a passenger in the backseat, was rushed to a hospital where he died two days later. A passenger seated in the front was uninjured.</p><p>Police later spoke with an employee of Rob&#8217;s Pub and Grub in Larksville, where Sutton worked that night. When Sutton got off work, she received a free beer and put $20 on the table, the employee told police. Sutton and her boyfriend then had several more alcoholic drinks, the employee said.</p><p>Investigators, noting Sutton weighed less than 100 pounds, believed she had six pints of beer and three shots. Her blood-alcohol level was tested at .197 percent, police said. That&#8217;s more than twice the .08 driving limit.</p><p>Further analysis of Sutton&#8217;s blood revealed she also had amphetamines and Oxycodone in her system, authorities report.</p><p>Sutton pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, and four DUI charges. Burke said the DUI charges will merge with the homicide by vehicle while DUI count at sentencing.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Audrey Cera Sutton, of Courtdale, is flanked by her attorney and father on the way to her arraignment in February. Sutton pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from a fatal drunken driving crash in October. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL020317Audrey-Sutton1-cmyk-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Audrey Cera Sutton, of Courtdale, is flanked by her attorney and father on the way to her arraignment in February. Sutton pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from a fatal drunken driving crash in October. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Courtdale woman, 22, pleads guilty to homicide in fatal drunken-driving wreck