ROCKY MOUNT -- A Franklin County Circuit Court judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge Monday against a man accused of killing a 16-year-old boy in a car wreck last year.

Judge William Alexander said the prosecution's case against 19-year-old Joseph Tyler Rogers did not prove he acted with a willful disregard for human life.

Rogers pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor reckless driving in the crash that caused the death of Rocky Mount teenager Bryan Patrick White Jr.

At the end of Monday's hearing, Alexander sentenced Rogers to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine for the reckless driving conviction and suspended his license for a year, the maximum possible punishment.

Chief Deputy Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Allen said White's family was disappointed by the dismissal. "They were hoping for a different result," he said.

There was no evidence that alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash. "It was speed alone," said defense attorney David Furrow. "Judge Alexander did the right thing."

According to testimony, on the afternoon of May 22, 2007, Rogers was giving a ride to three teenage passengers before heading to work. He was running late as he drove his parents' 2007 Ford Mustang west on Grassy Hill Road away from Rocky Mount.

Caught behind a slower-moving pickup truck, Rogers accelerated into the passing lane as soon as the road widened from one to two lanes.

But at the top of the hill he lost control in a curve, veered into the opposite lane, sideswiped an oncoming car, then went off the road and airborne, crashing into a tree, according to witnesses.

White was killed in the crash. He was riding in the back seat without a seat belt and was thrown partway out of the Mustang, police have said. Rogers and the other passengers were wearing seat belts.

Rogers and another witness estimated his speed as between 60 and 70 mph. One of the surviving passengers in Rogers' car testified that his speed was closer to 90 mph.

Before and during the trial, prosecution and defense argued over whether to admit a report taken from a data recorder in Rogers' car.

Furrow successfully argued that prosecutors could not conclusively prove that the numbers recorded by the device were an accurate measure of the car's actual speed. Alexander ruled the data inadmissible.

The recorder data would have shown the car moving faster than the 70 mph estimate, "if they were accurate," Furrow said.

As Alexander weighed how to punish Rogers, White's father, Bryan White Sr., testified briefly about his loss. "My son won't get a chance to drive, to go to college, to have kids," he said.

Rogers addressed a tearful statement to White's family before he was sentenced. "Words cannot express how sorry I am for the accident," he said. He grew choked up as he read, finally breaking down in tears and wailing, "Forgive me, please, forgive me."