A 27-year-old Hilo man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in connection with a traffic crash that killed another man on Sept. 16, 2006.

Tavis Nactor was driving toward Hilo on Hawai'i Belt Road in the Pepe'ekeo area when he struck an embankment, causing his vehicle to flip several times. Rear-seat passenger Aaron Alvarez, 25, died after he was thrown from the vehicle.

Nactor's blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, and last year he pleaded no contest to first-degree negligent homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and other charges.

Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara rejected Nactor's request for probation and sentenced him to prison.