ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- A man who pleaded no contest to nine felonies in a Detroit-area hit-and-run crash that left one person dead is headed to prison.

Thomas Grobbel, 24, of Madison Heights was sentenced Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court to at least eight years in prison.

Police said Grobbel was drunk when his truck crashed into a van on Interstate 696 going 97 miles per hour on July 20 in Royal Oak, killing 23-year-old Andrew Ross of Royal Oak and injuring three others.

Ross' father, Andrew Gene Doran, 45, also of Royal Oak, was seriously injured in the crash, as was Jared Nicholas Charest, 25, of Royal Oak.

The driver, Michael William Myke, 33, of Royal Oak suffered minor injures.

Doran's father was in court Tuesday and asked the judge to show no mercy on Grobbel.

Grobbel fled and later was arrested by police hiding behind a bush in a nearby neighborhood. About 10 minutes before the crash, Grobbel stopped at the McDonald's in Warren and hit a concrete divider at the drive-through, police said.

The McDonald's drive-through attendant, Tony Garrisi, said he noticed Grobbel was intoxicated and asked him not to drive, but he continued on.

"He was so drunk his eyes were glossy and he couldn't keep them open," Garrisi told the 911 operator after Grobbel pulled out of the drive-through.

He pleaded no contest to nine charges including operating while intoxicated causing death. A no-contest plea isn't an admission of guilt.

Defense attorney Scott Weinberg has said Grobbel doesn't recall most events of that night. Grobbel apologized in court, but it didn't seem to comfort Ross' mother who read a statement.

Grobbel's father broke down after the ruling and apologized to the victim's families.

"On behalf of my son… I haven't had a chance to say how sorry I am to the victim's family that he killed," said Frederick Grobbel as he choked back tears. "All I want to say is, 'Kids don't drink and drive because this could happen to you.' I am so sorry that this happened. That's all I got to say."