UTICA — A Utica man has been sentenced to five to 16 years in state prison after pleading guilty in Oneida County Court to driving drunk and causing a fatal accident in Utica in late 2021.

Giovanni Williams, 22, pleaded guilty before Judge Robert L. Bauer in October to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, court officials said.

Williams was sentenced on Dec. 23 to 5 1/3 to 16 years in state prison after accepting a plea deal from the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office.

At about 3:50 a.m. Nov. 11, 2021, Williams was behind the wheel and northbound on the Parkway in Utica when his vehicle crashed into several trees at Sherman Drive, on the city’s east side, according to the Utica Police Department.

A passenger in the vehicle, 21-year-old Jaedon Jarosz, of Utica, was found ejected from the vehicle and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities stated.

Williams was found inside the vehicle and he was rushed to a local hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. Following an investigation, police said it was determined that Williams had been driving drunk, and he was eventually charged last year in Jarosz’s death.