After a judge sentenced Katherine Applegate to house arrest yesterday for her role in a 2006 vehicle-pedestrian accident, the former student said she wants to move on.

"I just want to get back to my life," Applegate said with tears in her eyes.

Applegate, 24, received a sentence of 20 days under house arrest, along with a $2,000 fine and a one-year suspension of her driver's license.

In a March 4, non-jury trial, Applegate was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence for hitting Penn State student Michael Drauch as he stumbled into the street in front of the Meridian apartment complex, 646 E. College Ave., in December 2006. She was also convicted of a summary charge of failure to comply with license restrictions.

When asked by her attorney if she had any advice for students, Applegate responded simply: "Don't drink and drive," she said.

At Applegate's preliminary hearing on Dec. 20, 2006, a felony charge of aggravated assault while DUI was dropped after Drauch's intoxication was found to be 50 percent at fault for the accident.

In her trial, Applegate was exonerated of a felony charge of accidents involving death or injury, but faced a possible three-day prison sentence for her guilty verdicts. Although a mandatory minimum sentence of 72 hours in jail accompanies the verdicts, Applegate will serve her time under house arrest through an intermediate punishment program, defense attorney William Arbuckle said. House arrest is often preferred in these cases because of prison overcrowding, Arbuckle said.

"She won't physically go to jail, but she has to serve in-home detention, which is the electronic bracelet," Arbuckle said.

Applegate will also face a six-month probationary period and have to pay for the costs of the bracelet and supervision fees, Arbuckle said.

After Applegate hit Drauch, she drove off without stopping to check on him and was found by a police officer a mile and a half away, according to court documents.

Arbuckle pointed out during the trial that his client wasn't fleeing but looking for a legal place to park, because of numerous no-parking signs scattered between the accident scene and Your Building Center, 1120 E. College Ave., where she eventually parked.

Drauch registered a blood-alcohol content of .24 at 1:45 a.m., and Applegate's blood-alcohol content was .208 when she was arrested at 3 a.m., police said.

Applegate's father, Gary, said while there is still the impending civil lawsuit from the Drauch family, his daughter can begin getting back to a normal life.

"Have another year, and then we're done with it," Gary Applegate said. "It's been a long 15 months."