A Lauderdale County judge on Thursday sided with a victim's family and admonished jurors who found that a Florence teen did not act recklessly when he ran a red light and slammed into a woman's car in 2015, killing her instantly.

Circuit Court Judge Mike Jones made his criticism as he sentenced Brian Parker Peden to a year in county jail - the maximum sentence for criminally negligent homicide. Peden, who turned 20 in June, was initially charged with manslaughter in the April 23, 2015, crash that killed Shirley Brannon, 47, of Florence.

"How any jury could find this not reckless is beyond me," Jones said during Peden's sentencing, according to the Times-Daily.

The newspaper reports that Brannon's family had harshly chastised jurors earlier in the sentencing hearing for their decision to convict Peden in May of a misdemeanor instead of the felony manslaughter, which would have sent him to state prison instead of county jail.

The jury's verdict form, filed with court records in his case, indicates the jury found that he was "not under the influence of a controlled substance to a degree which renders him incapable of safely driving."

That decision was made despite testimony during the trial that indicated Peden had Xanax and the pain medication Tramadol in his system at the time of the wreck. An investigator testified that Peden was going nearly twice the 45 mph speed limit when he ran a red light at the intersection of Cloyd Boulevard and Darby Drive and collided with Brannon's car.

Peden testified that he did not remember the crash and his attorney argued that the teen suffered from epileptic seizures. Prosecutors questioned whether he'd gotten a text on his cell phone, causing him to look down, moments before the collision.