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NATCHEZ — Sixth District Circuit Court Judge Carmen Drake has sentenced Charles Mason to 25 years confinement in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for driving under the influence and crashing his 2007 Chrysler Aspen in a one-car collision that took a young woman’s life.

He must serve 20 of those years, Drake said.

Law enforcement officers said Mason’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash.

Mason was driving on Feb. 8, 2022, on Melrose Montebello Parkway.

Then-Police Chief Joseph Daughtry said at the time witnesses said Mason’s car appeared to drift off the right side of the road and that he may have overcorrected.

“The car flipped several times and all three subjects were ejected,” Daughtry said on the day of the crash.

Natchez Fire Chief Robert Arrington happened to be driving by the scene and stopped to render aid, as did others who passed by, Daughtry said.

Passenger Lakedra Thomas died at the scene after being ejected from the vehicle. Another passenger, Tamarion Washington, suffered broken bones and extensive internal injuries.