VALPARAISO | A 17-year-old boy with a lengthy criminal record and a history of failing to respond to help was sentenced Monday to 15 years behind bars for causing a crash that left one dead and two others injured.

While holding Aaron Phelps accountable for his actions, Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper criticized the boy's parents for providing a "wretched" home environment for an otherwise bright young man.

Phelps and his siblings reportedly had a lack of supervision and suffered physical abuse before winding up in numerous foster homes.

"What a shame," Harper said.

Phelps pleaded guilty in January to two felony counts stemming from the Aug. 8 crash.

He fled from police, who went to his Valparaiso home to question him about a series of burglaries in the Hebron area and a probation violation. Phelps drove through a red light at Ind. 49 and County Road 400 North and struck a truck, resulting in the death of a 15-year-old girl from Louisiana who was a passenger in his car, police said.

Phelps and two others in the car were injured.

He was initially charged as a juvenile because he was 16 at the time, but his case was waived to adult court based on his extensive criminal record, his repeated failure to comply with probation and his history of running away from home.

"I know I made a mistake," Phelps said Monday while apologizing. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt or die."

Phelps' mother, Brenda Maldonado, blamed much of the child abuse on the boy's father, who is now in prison himself.

She objected to a report from probation that Phelps has shown no emotion.

"He showed emotion to me," she said, describing how he broke down crying on more than one occasion.

Defense attorney Garry Weiss said Phelps is guarded with his emotions because of the repeated abuse he has suffered.

When Phelps completes his 15-year prison term, which can be done in half that time or less with good behavior and participation in classes, he will be placed on three years of formal probation.

The sentence is only a couple of years short of the maximum he could have received.