A former Suffolk County police officer was sentenced Monday to three to nine years in prison for killing a man while driving drunk the wrong way on Sunrise Highway.

Robert Scheuerer had pleaded guilty to causing the September 2016 crash in West Islip.

Prosecutors say Scheuerer was off duty when he had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit while driving east in the westbound lanes of Sunrise Highway. Scheuerer's vehicle slammed into a van, killing Brian Fusaro, of Bay Shore, in the fiery crash.

In court, Scheuerer addressed Fusaro's family before his sentencing, saying he accepts full responsibility for the crash.

Scheuerer had only been a police officer for a year at the time of the crash. The now-27-year-old lost part of his leg.

MORE: Ex-cop charged in wrong-way fatal crash begins prison term

Before sentencing, the judge said both Fusaro and Scheuerer's families paid a steep price, and though Scheuerer may have been a pillar in the community prior, no one is spared the consequences of their actions. Fusaro's family didn't comment afterward.

During the sentencing, the judge issued Scheurer a challenge: to share his story with someone every day for the rest of his life in hopes of saving more lives.

Scheuerer has been in jail for more than a year. That time will be deducted from his final sentence.