Brittany Miles sentenced for DUI escape, battery on LEO

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Brittany Miles said she is a changed person now that she is off prescription pills. 

She hoped for a lighter sentence so she can be with her family and help others fight their addictions. She got no sympathy from one of the people she hurt, but did get less than half of the maximum possible sentence.

Pasco County Judge Michael Andrews gave Miles 15 years in prison. He could have sentenced her to 35 years.

Last month she was convicted on several charges, including battery of a law enforcement officer.

Tuesday, for the first time, Miles apologized face to face to the Pasco Deputy she nearly killed during the May 2011 escape from a DUI stop.

"Deputy Grady, I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened. I did not mean to hurt you and I am sorry."

The former exotic dancer and her family begged the judge for mercy during sentencing.

Her mother, a Hernando County Deputy says Brittany was a wonderful girl, until a pain pill addiction that started after Miles was hit by a drunk driver in 2009.

"I know that if she was in her right frame of mind that day, none of this ever would have happened," said Debra Miles.

But Deputy Grady, who was suspended for mistakes that led to Miles escape, doesn't buy the excuses.

"Even on the pills, people still make their own decisions. I feel that Brittany Miles is clean and the person she used to be, because she had no choice because she was sitting in jail," said Grady.

Grady broke her leg and suffered a concussion when she was thrown off Miles truck during the escape. She says she'll have to live with her own pain injuries for the rest of her life, but won't take pain pills.

"I told the doctor I refused to take medication, cause I've seen what it does to other people," said Grady.

Authorities said the rampage up US 19 ended when Miles slammed into and killed motorcyclist Henry McCain just across the county line.

"I didn't realize that I had a real true problem until it was too late," said Miles.

Miles still faces another trial and the possibility of a lot more prison time for the death of that motorcyclist in Hernando County. The judge in Pasco County said he did not factor that part of the chase in Tuesday's decision.