YOUNGSTOWN — A Warren woman, charged in the 2018 wrong-way crash that killed her two young sons and only sibling, was given a seven-year prison term after a judge told her it was the most difficult decision he’s made so far in his short tenure.

On Tuesday, Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony Donofrio sentenced Ka’Nosha Bason, 26, of 2841 Parkman Road NW, to three consecutive 28-month prison terms.

“I have been all over the board in regard to this sentence,” Donofrio said, pointing to his duty to protect the public in issuing the consecutive sentences. The judge talked about Bason’s poor driving record, which included driving under suspension and without a license, and her addiction problems.

Assistant Prosecutor Martin S. Hume said Bason was shown to have marijuana and cocaine in her system and her blood-alcohol content was .047 during the Feb. 23, 2018, accident. Prosecutors said the drug content in her blood was far and away greater than the alcohol content.

Bason drove the wrong way on state Route 711 colliding head-on with a semi-tractor trailer. Killed were her two sons, Nialaisha Bason, 5, and Noreyion Bason, 7; and her brother, 32-year-old Cedrick Lyons. The children were students at McGuffey PK-8 school in Warren.

Bason’s mother, Katrina Jefferson, asked the judge to be lenient on her daughter.

“My daughter is not a monster. She made a bad judgment that cost her everything. If she is taken away, I feel like I will have nobody,” said Jefferson, who lost her only son in the crash.

Defense attorney John Juhasz, who had argued that his client should get a three-year sentence, said Bason’s drug use could be related to the fact that she had lost an child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 2014.

“She was trying to do her best under the circumstances,” Juhasz said.

Speaking on her own behalf, Bason said she was remorseful for what happened.

“If I could get my kids back and my brother back, I would do anything to bring them back,” she told the judge.

Bason on Aug. 12 had pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor driving under the influence charge. Donofrio also suspended her license for 10 years and fined her $375.

Donofrio, who was elected last November, said he would consider early release for Bason if she maintains a good prison record.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com