Nick Bollea was sentenced to eight months in a Florida county jail after pleading no contest to charges of felony reckless driving, stemming from the Aug. 26, 2007, car crash that left his best friend, John Graziano, in critical condition, PEOPLE reports.

Nick Bollea sentenced to eight months in jail

Bollea, 17, was also sentenced to five years probation, during which he will serve 500 hours of community service, not be allowed to drink any alcohol and have his driver's license revoked for three years.

"I would like to apologize to the Grazianos and to my family for the accident. Every single day I think about the accident and about John," Bollea said in court.

Citing Bollea's age and his lack of any prior criminal record he will not have a felony conviction on his record once he turns 18 later this summer.

"I think there is an understanding of what happened, and there is a sense of acceptance of responsibility," the judge said, explaining his decision. "There is nothing that the court can impose that is close to what John has dealt with or will have to deal with as he moves forward."

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