Havana , Cuba ( CNN ) -- A Spanish politician accused of reckless driving after a car crash that killed two Cuban dissidents was sentenced to four years in prison , Cuban state media said Monday . Angel Carromero had faced a possible sentence of 10 years after the crash that took the life of well-known Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya in July . Paya had been one of the more prominent activists to challenge the Cuban government 's authority and single-party form of rule . His death provoked an outpouring of grief in Cuba and abroad , and also questions about how the crash that took his life occurred . Read more : Dissident Cuban blogger arrested , colleagues say . Paya 's widow Ofelia Acevedo said she did not believe the Cuban government 's accounts that the crash was an accident . Instead , Acevedo said she believed Paya had been targeted by the government for his opposition work and that the car he was traveling in had been run off the road . In a short video released by the Cuban government following the crash , Carromero said the crash took place after he lost control of the car when the terrain he was driving on abruptly changed . Read more : Cuban dissident dies in car accident . In the video , he asked for the public 's help in securing his release from prison in Cuba . Dissident Harold Cepero was also killed in the crash . Aron Modig , a Swedish politician who also survived the wreck , said he had no memory of how the crash took place . Both Modig and Carromero said they traveled to Cuba to assist Paya in his opposition work . The Spanish Embassy in Cuba did not respond immediately to calls seeking comment on the sentencing .
Angel Carromero is sentenced to four years in prison . The case was the first time a U.S. citizen had been convicted of spying for Cuba. Well-known Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya died in the crash . His widow said she did n't believe government accounts that it was an accident .