FARMINGTON – Apologizing for her actions, Sarah Forbes, the drunken driver whose vehicle hit a snowmobiler on Routes 2 and 4 last February, was sentenced Wednesday to serve one year of a five-year prison term.

The lack of more jail time angered the fiancé and father of Lisa Cerqueira, 20, of Wilton, who died in the crash.

During a portion of the proceedings, the words “In Loving Memory of Lisa Cerqueira” and photos of her as child were projected on the wall behind the judge’s bench.

“I am sorry for what I did, and I am sorry for the pain I caused,” Forbes said as she stood before the judge. “No amount of words are going to change what happened.”

Justice Joseph Jabar revoked her driver’s license for 10 years, fined her $2,100 and ordered three years’ probation and 20 hours of community service. She must also undergo substance abuse evaluation.

The 44-year-old Farmington woman pleaded guilty to aggravated operating under the influence Monday in Franklin County Superior Court in exchange for dismissing a manslaughter charge.

Prosecutors said it would be difficult to prove manslaughter, in part, because investigators said it was unclear if Forbes’ blood-alcohol level of .23 percent, which is nearly three times Maine’s legal limit, played a major role in the crash. The investigation also showed that the disabled snowmobile Cerqueira was sitting on was mostly in Forbes’ travel lane that night.

Cerqueira’s fiancé, Farmington police officer Rick Billian Jr. of Strong, was driving the snowmobile across the highway and had gotten off to straighten skis that were stuck on a curb.

Billian and Cerqueira’s father, Jose Cerqueira, voiced frustration, anger and disappointment with the sentence.

“I think it’s a joke,” Cerqueira said.

“It’s the biggest slap in the face from the law system in Maine. Today, with the sentencing, that’s really a joke. I’m leaving this courthouse; I don’t have any respect for the Maine law system or the criminal justice system in the state of Maine.”

Billian told the court that he has carried the picture of the love of his life and his best friend around with him since the accident. On a chain around his neck he wears the wedding ring she would have worn had

they married as planned on Aug. 18, he told the court.

“I miss my Lisa so much, I cannot explain what I’m going through,” Billian said.

Before the sentence was announced, Assistant District Attorney James Andrews told the court that Forbes, a severe diabetic, had been in the hospital three times in 10 days before the accident and was released that morning with instructions to rest at home.

Instead, Andrews said Forbes went to a Wilton bar and had three hard liquor drinks within a half-hour. She then went to an acquaintance’s home where she ate and consumed more alcohol before going back to the bar to drink whiskey.

After she and an acquaintance walked out of the bar, someone asked if she wanted a ride home and Forbes declined, Andrews said.

She showed “complete and utter disregard of safety for herself and others,” Andrews said.

Andrews suggested the sentence be near the maximum of 10 years.

Defense attorney John Alsop reminded the court it was not a manslaughter charge but an aggravated OUI charge, and he objected to Andrews’ rehash of Forbes’ activities leading up to the accident.

The case did not involve high speed, swerving or reckless driving, Alsop said. Forbes drank soda and water, played pool and had shots of whiskey on the day of the accident, he said. One witness said she didn’t stagger and showed no affects of being under the influence, he added.

When she “felt she had a buzz” she left the bar, Alsop said. The underlying factor is the recklessness of going out and getting behind the wheel to drive home, he said.

The single mother of a 15-year-old son had a clean driving record and no criminal background, her attorney said.

Jabar said if he responded to emotion he would issue the maximum sentence, but his job is to look at facts of the case and issue a fair sentence that prevents crimes and offers a deterrent but does not diminish the gravity of the offense.

“I witnessed a real tragedy that everyone who drinks and drives should observe,” Jabar said.

After the sentencing, Billian said, “I’m sick of this liberal system and we’re not sending out any messages.”