A drunken driver who killed a woman while traveling the wrong way on the Dallas North Tollway was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.

It was the maximum penalty that jurors could have imposed on James Giraldo, 27.

Earlier this week, Giraldo pleaded guilty to manslaughter and asked the Dallas County jury for leniency, saying he deeply regretted the death of 27-year-old Juliana Rincon-Cuartas.

After the Oct. 4, 2008, accident, Giraldo put a picture of his victim on his refrigerator.

"It's one of the most difficult things I've ever had to deal with in my whole life," he told the jury.

"I think about it every day. ... I think about the girl. I think about her family. I think about what I took away from the family because of my own stupidity."

The accident occurred before dawn on a Saturday morning. According to investigators, Giraldo had been drinking at a bar. His Honda Accord was spotted heading north in the southbound lanes of the tollway. Near Walnut Hill Lane, it slammed into a Lexus sedan in which Rincon-Cuartas was a passenger.

Giraldo also hit a second vehicle, a Chevrolet pickup. None of the other motorists was seriously injured.

Giraldo's blood alcohol level was .18 – more than twice the legal limit – three hours after the crash.

He was also arrested for DWI last August, while out on bond.

Dallas County prosecutor Jason Hermus said that arrest proved Giraldo didn't learn his lesson by killing an innocent young woman.

"He doesn't change," Hermus said.

Staff writer Bruce Tomaso contributed to this report.