A Paris woman who crashed a sport utility vehicle on Waterford Road in Harrison in 2010, killing one of her passengers, won't serve jail time for the incident.

Morgan Kesseli, 19, pleaded guilty Friday to lesser charges while a manslaughter charger was dropped. Kesseli pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault, and to counts of aggravated driving to endanger and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Her sentence was suspended; Kesseli will be on probation until she's 21.

Kesseli was driving a Chevrolet Blazer north on the Waterford Road in Harrison on Oct. 21, 2010, when she lost control of it and it crossed the southbound lane and slammed into a stand of trees. Passenger Thomas McLendon, 19, of Oxford was killed and passengers Jacob Hill, who was 20 at the time, and Timothy Coffin, who was 21, were badly hurt, as was Kesseli, who was 17.

Investigators from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office and the Windham Police Department concluded excessive speed was the primary factor in the accident. A subsequent investigation also cited driver inexperience and wet roads as factors.

McLendon's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kesseli and her mother, Lisa Palmer, in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris The case was settled out of court in January.

treaves@sunjournal.com