A substance-abuse counselor was sentenced to 55 years to life for hitting a pedestrian and driving through a Los Angeles suburb with the dying man still on her windshield.

The perpetrator, 53-year-old Sherri Lynn Wilkins, was convicted on Thursday of second-degree murder, driving under the influence, and hit-and-run.

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Reportedly, Wilkins was leaving a counseling center in November of 2012 when she struck 31-year-old Phillip Moreno and continued driving for another 2 miles with the dying man on her car.

Motorists finally swamped Wilkins, holding her until police arrived. Moreno was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Officials reported that Wilkins had a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit at the time of the incident.

"Ms. Wilkins demonstrated an extraordinary callousness in fleeing the scene and trying to shake Mr. Moreno's body off her car. This is a callous murder, not an unfortunate act." Superior Court Judge Henry Hall stated.

The offender was sentenced under California's three strikes law, due to a long criminal history of drug-related crimes. As a result, her sentence was tripled from the standard 15 to life, meaning Wilkins will not be eligible for parole for another 55 years.

Wilkins, who was a drug addict before becoming a substance-abuse counselor, claimed that she wasn't drunk that night but was 'self-medicating' while waiting for knee-replacement surgery. Ms. Wilkins told authorities that she had consumed three single-serving bottles of vodka and a can of beer before starting out on the drive.

When testifying before the court, Wilkins claimed that she never saw Moreno coming and it was as if he had fallen from the sky. Her defense followed up the theory by attempting to argue that Moreno was drunk when he jumped on the hood of her car, causing Wilkins to panic.

The judge, however, called the theory "fanciful" and pointed to it as an attempt by Wilkins to evade responsibility for what she had done.

Tagswoman, Los Angeles, DUI, hit and run, pedestrian, windshield, counselor, substance abuse, Drunk