While his injuries prevented him from speaking to the court in person, Michael Alwine’s still shared his story, in written form, of his painful rehabilitation from the broken bones he sustained during a motorcycle crash last fall to the judge, lawyers, and others present inside a Cassopolis courtroom Friday morning.

One of the listeners was the woman responsible for his accident that September day.

“The doctor is still not able to tell me if I’ll ever be able to walk again, let alone run, climb a ladder, or do all the fun things I enjoyed in my life,” said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz, reading from a letter Alwine delivered to the court. “I would not wish this on anyone.”

Cass County Circuit Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Kristy Ann Barks, 25, of Cassopolis, to a minimum term of one year in prison up to a maximum of five years for causing a serious injury while driving with a suspended license. Barks pleaded guilty to the charge back on Nov. 26.

The charge stems from an accident that occurred at the intersection of Kessington Road and Mason Street in Mason Township on Sept. 4. At the time of the collision, Barks’ drivers license had been suspended; however, she still chose to drive that day, Dodge said.

“At that intersection, you failed to yield the right of way to a motorcycle driven by the [man] in this case, which was heading east on Mason Street,” Dodge said. “As a result, you collided with it, causing some very serious injuries to Alwine.”

The injuries he sustained included a crushed left femur, a fractured left tibia, shoulder and ribs, and a number of lacerations, Dodge said. These injuries have required eight surgeries to date, with more on the way, amounting to more than $400,000 in medical bills, the judge added.

Barks has two felonies and seven misdemeanors on her criminal record. At the time of the accident, she was on probation for a larceny conviction in St. Joseph County.

Despite this, Barks’ attorney, Gregory Feldman, requested that his client be admitted into the state’s Swift and Sure probation program, so that she would be able to spend any time incarcerated in a local correction facility.

The prosecution, though, pushed for her to serve time inside a prison, due to her prior record and previous failure on probation.

“What we do in the past has consequences for what we do in the future,” Fitz said. “Unfortunately for her, these matters are now catching up to her.”

Dodge’s sentence fell in line with the prosecutor’s recommendation, saying that Barks would not make a suitable candidate for probation.

“Even though you did not intend this, and it was a negligent act on your part, you violated the law by driving with a suspended license,” Dodge said. “You should not have been behind a wheel. If you followed the law, this would have never happened.”

Barks was given 55 days credit for time already served.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Christopher Dwayne Yakim, 30, of Niles, to 300 days in jail for failure to comply with the sex offender registry.

• Gary Dale Tadlock Jr., 21, of Nappanee, to 180 days in jail and two years of probation for second-degree home invasion.

• Ellen Ann Craigo, 63, of Union, to one year of probation for possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug house.

• Kristopher Thomas Moorman, 35, of Dowagiac and Nicholas Robert Dupius, 35, of Cassopolis, to 18 months of probation for marijuana related charges.

• Colin Andrew Sharpe, 29, of Dowagiac, to 300 days in jail for failure to comply with the sex offender registry.

• Lynn Pawluk, 60, of Dowagiac, to 18 months of probation for the manufacture of marijuana.

• Larry Wayne Dilishaw, 57, of Niles, to 18 months of probation for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.