A pregnant mother of two was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for killing her passenger in a crash where her blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit.

Robin Denise Cort, 28, was also banned from driving for three years following her release after earlier pleading guilty to impaired driving causing death.

Provincial Court Judge Jim Wheatley accepted that Cort, who is expecting her third child in February, is very remorseful and has taken steps to deal with her booze problem, but said a stern message needed to be sent out.

Related:Edmonton man guilty of impaired driving causing death

"Impaired driving is a huge, huge difficulty in our world," said Wheatley. "Society has to know that the courts abhor these type of crimes and the courts must indicate to society that these behaviours will not be tolerated."

According to agreed facts, Cort was driving a 1992 Honda Accord along Kingsway Avenue about 5:40 p.m. on April 28, 2014, with Matthew Logan, 27, in the passenger seat.

As she approached Princess Elizabeth Avenue, she turned left directly into the path of a Mack semi-truck hauling a load of soil, resulting in the Honda sustaining "catastrophic damage."

Logan died at the scene and Cort was taken to hospital with injuries to her right side, neck and back.

Police noted she had red eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath and Cort admitted having drank eight beers.

Related:Victim's family 'will never forget pain'

A search warrant was granted to seize samples of her blood and testing revealed her blood-alcohol level was roughly three times the legal driving limit.

Susan Logan, the mother of the victim, told court police gave her the "horrific news" of the death of her only child that night and recalled that the last message she ever got from her son was a text saying "I love you mom."

The heartbroken mother was emotional as she told the judge that her "life was changed forever" as a result of the collision and said she remains "consumed with grief" and feeling "very alone" and thinks about her son every day and wishes she "could hug him one more time."

Crown prosecutor Mark van Manen noted the deadly collision had a "devastating impact" and called it a "tragedy for everyone involved."

Defence lawyer Dan Nagase told court that Cort has solid family support and said she has made great efforts to address her alcohol addiction. He also said she has two children, aged 11 and four, and is expecting her third child to be born in February. As well, he said she has researched taking care of the infant while in prison.

Cort was allowed to say goodbye to her family and hug her recent husband, who said "I love you," as she was being led away by court sheriffs.