A driver who killed three people, including a pregnant woman, after texting the facepalm emoji to her friend has been sentenced to just one year in jail.

Claire Carr, 54, pleaded guilty to reckless driving in Goochland County, Virginia, on Tuesday after hitting Linli Xu and couple Justin Ransone and Amy Lee Abbott in June 2018.

Xu, 25, who was six months pregnant with her son, was standing in a grass median on Route 288 after striking a deer. Ransone, 41, and his girlfriend Abbott, 45, had stopped to help her.

Police said all three were struck and killed by Carr's vehicle after she swerved to avoid Xu's crashed Mercedes in the left lane. Justin had been on Xu's phone talking to the emergency services when they were hit.

Carr, an attorney and partner at a local law firm, had sent a text message of a woman holding her palm against her face just seconds before, authorities said.

She tearfully apologized for her actions, telling the families of those killed: 'I am so sorry — so deeply and profoundly sorry for this accident.

Attorney Claire Carr, 54, pictured, pleaded guilty to reckless driving Tuesday in Virginia. She hit Linli Xu, 25, and couple Justin Ransone and Amy Lee Abbott in June 2018

Linli Xu, pictured, who was six months pregnant with her son, was standing in a grass median on Route 288 after striking a deer. Justin Ransone and Amy Lee Abbott stopped to help her

Justin, left, had been on Xu's phone talking to the emergency services when they were hit. He and his girlfriend, Amy Lee Abbott, right, had stopped to help Linli Xu after she hit a deer

Carr said: 'There is no jail or sentence that comes close to the prison of my own mind and heart.'

She had faced up to 30 years in prison if she had been found guilty of three counts of involuntary manslaughter, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

But she took a plea deal, to the lesser charge of reckless driving. She will also see her license suspended for six months with work-release privileges allowing restricted use to drive to and from her job.

Linli Xu's husband, Heng Hu, said allowing Carr to work during the day and stay only in jail at night and on weekends was 'ridiculous'. He added: 'I feel disappointed because I feel the driver, she got everything she wanted.'

Abbott's sister, Nancye Hunter, said: 'In all honesty, she took three lives and an unborn baby. She destroyed three families. She took a mother away from her two children.

'Does she feel remorse? Yes. But I think she has more sorrow for herself.

'There have got to be stiffer penalties for people who are doing it so the next time some teenager or mom is getting ready to text her kid what’s for dinner they think twice about it. That innocent text takes lives.'

Authorities say Carr was driving on Route 288 last year when she came upon a disabled car in the left lane. Police said all three were struck and killed by Carr's vehicle after she swerved to avoid Xu's crashed Mercedes in the left lane

The driver of the disabled vehicle, Linli Xu, of Midlothian, was standing in a grass median after striking a deer, and a Glen Allen couple, Justin Ransone and Amy Lee Abbott, stopped to help

Ransone's mother, Dianne, added: 'It was horrific. My son was hit at 63 mph.

'Our grandsons miss their father every day and the bond they had with Amy and her sons.'

Carr had been driving her 2016 Audi Q5 home from a dinner in the left lane of Route 288 when she swerved to avoid hitting Xu's car.

She had been texting three friends in the 20 minutes leading up to the crash and had sent her final message just seconds before, authorities said.

Goochland Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Caudill said: 'Claire Carr is an accomplished person and up until this crash, has done nothing but good things. There are no winners in this case.'

Explaining the sentencing decision Caudill added: 'The case law is clear that criminal negligence is a very high burden. As the evidence developed in the case, we became aware of concerns about meeting that burden.

'I have to do what is fair and just and it may not seem that way without a full and complete understanding of the facts and circumstances of the case.'