( CNN ) -- A convicted drunken driver was sentenced Wednesday to 51 years to life in prison for a crash that killed Los Angeles Angel pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others , the Orange County , California , district attorney said . Andrew Thomas Gallo , 23 , of San Gabriel , California , received the maximum sentence after a jury found him guilty in September of three felony counts of murder , felony drunken driving and two other felonies , according to District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and court spokeswoman Carole Levitzky . Gallo had previously been convicted in San Bernardino County , California , for driving under the influence in 2006 and was on probation at the time of the April 2009 crash , the district attorney said . Authorities say Gallo 's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he sped through a red light and crashed into a car . Adenhart , 22 , of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim , who was beginning his first full season in the majors , was killed . He had pitched just his fourth Major League game hours earlier . The crash also killed Courtney Stewart , 20 , a student and former cheerleader at California State University at Fullerton , and law student Henry Pearson , 25 , who was working toward becoming a sports agent , authorities said . A fourth victim , 24-year-old Jon Wilhite , a former baseball player for the Cal State-Fullerton Titans , was critically injured and is now in stable condition , the prosecutor said . `` Before drinking , set up a plan to have a sober driver , '' Rackauckas said in a written statement . `` If you make the decision to drink and drive , we will make the decision to charge you with vehicular manslaughter or murder and you may spend the rest of your life in prison . During this holiday season , think about the pain on the victims ' families ' faces before you drink and drive . '' In addition to being drunk and on probation , Gallo was driving on a suspended driver 's license when his minivan , going about 65 mph in a 35 mph zone , crashed into Adenhart 's vehicle at 12:23 a.m. on April 9 , 2009 , authorities said . His license had been suspended because of a prior drunken driving conviction , the prosecutor said . Gallo 's 21-year-old step-brother was a passenger in the minivan . After the collision , Gallo fled on foot , but was arrested less than 30 minutes later about two miles away by Anaheim police officers , authorities said . Two hours after the crash , Gallo had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 % , well above the legal limit of 0.08 % , authorities said . Rackauckas released remarks made during Wednesday 's sentencing by relatives of the crash victims . In a written statement submitted to the court , Adenhart 's family said : `` Our pain is not a state of being but a condition of life . We live with this hole in our family , our heart , our belief and our lives . No amount of words will ever fill that hole or in any way replace the loss of our dear Nick . Nick was beautiful . That phrase describes him best . '' Jon Wilhite 's mother , Elizabeth , said her son has had `` to learn to walk , talk , swallow , and eat . '' `` All the things we take for granted , Jon had to learn . His life before the crash was very active . He will never be able to turn his head to look up at the moon or to play baseball , which he loves so much . But he takes it in stride . Jon is the strongest person I know . He 's our hero and did n't deserve what happened to him , '' the mother said . Jon Wilhite wrote a statement that was read to the court , explaining how his life is forever changed . He said he believes Gallo should be severely punished for taking the lives of three people whom he thinks about every day .
Andrew Thomas Gallo , 23 , was on probation from a prior drunken driving conviction . Gallo killed Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others . Adenhart had just pitched his fourth-ever Major League game hours earlier .