State Rep. Joe Boylan, a Pinehurst Republican, pleaded guilty Wednesday during a special session of Moore County District Court to driving while impaired.

Judge Jack Klass, a judge brought in from Davidson to hear Boylan's case and one other, gave him a 60-day suspended jail sentence with unsupervised probation for one year and took away his driver's license for one year.

After 45 days, Boylan can apply for limited driving privileges. In return for the guilty plea, the prosecution dropped an additional charge of driving left of center.

"I've admitted my guilt, taken my treatment, and am moving on," Boylan said after leaving court with his wife and parents at his side. "It's good to get it behind me. This whole ordeal has really been a blessing from God. I hope some other people can learn from it."

Boylan's attorney, Arthur Blue, said that the judge's ruling showed no favoritism for the one-term legislator.

"He got the standard sentence anybody would get," Blue said.

The charge stemmed from an April 10 incident in which Boylan drove his 1999 truck into a ditch and struck a tree off the dead-end Thommason Road in Cameron just before 10:30 p.m. He had fallen asleep behind the wheel, according to prosecutor Assistant Attorney General Sebastian Kielmanovick.

State troopers charged Boylan with DWI at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, where he was seeking treatment for minor injuries.

The prosecution argued that the aggravating factors were that Boylan had a high blood alcohol content (0.17) -- more than twice the legal limit, which is 0.08 -- and that the accident resulted in more than $1,000 worth of property damage to his truck.

The defense argued that Boylan has been sober since the crash, has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, has an otherwise safe driving record, and was polite and cooperative with investigators.

The judge agreed with those arguments. He also fined Boylan $100 and ordered him to pay $121 in court costs. He will also have to pay a $200 community service fee.

He also went ahead and paid a $100 civil cost and a $100 limited driving privilege cost, bringing the total amount to $621.

Boylan said Wednesday that he doesn't remember most of the accident. He said he remembers the sound and the smell of the airbag. He also remembers being tangled in a patch of briers, which gave him most of his injuries.

Contact Matthew Moriarty at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.