VISTA - A retired Newport Beach police officer who drove drunk and caused a wreck on Interstate 15 near Fallbrook, killing a 20-year-old Perris man and injuring two others, was sentenced Friday to nine years in state prison.

Katherine Ann Heinzel, 51, was convicted last year of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the Nov. 19, 2011, collision that killed Davieonne Dwayne Kelly.

The defendant -- who lives in Winchester -- was arrested after the car she was driving fast rear-ended a Toyota Camry driven by Kelly near Lilac Road about 1:50 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The impact caused both vehicles to go through a guardrail and down a steep embankment. Kelly died at the scene and two of his passengers were hurt, along with Heinzel, whose blood-alcohol level was measured at .13-.14 percent after the crash, said Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior.

According to the CHP, Heinzel had retired from the Newport Beach Police Department and was not employed in law enforcement at the time of the crash.