Director, producer and Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary has been sentenced to 12 months in prison and 5 years probation for causing a fatal traffic collision while driving under the influence in Southern California.

The Ventura County Star reports that the Canadian born Avary, 44, was sentenced Tuesday.

In August, Avary pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and to drunken driving and causing an accident.

Officials said Avary was driving more than 100 MPH when he crashed into a pole, fatally injuring his passenger, 34-year-old Andreas Zini. Avary’s wife, Gretchen Avary, 42, was ejected from the car and injured.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie said he took into consideration Avary’s age and clean criminal record, as well as what the defendant has done with his life and the fact that he has shown remorse.

The maximum sentence was 12 years and eight months, but the District Attorney’s Office was asking for six years and eight months in prison. Avary has also reportedly reached a $4.1 million settlement with the victim’s family.

Avary’s lawyer asked for him to be allowed on the prison’s work furlough program so he may continue working on film projects and the judge agreed, if Avary qualifies.

Avary co-wrote the script for Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction,’ for which the pair won an Academy Award. He is currently working on ‘Return to Castle Wolfenstein’ and it was announced this month that he had signed on to write and produce a sequel to 2006’s ‘Silent Hill.’

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