With the blood-alcohol test of the driver in a fatal car wreck ruled inadmissible, attorneys worked out a plea negotiation Thursday.

Harley A. Snyder, 31, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to homicide by vehicle in the first degree, failure to yield and driving under the influence.

Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet accepted the plea and sentenced Mr. Snyder to four years in prison followed by six years on probation. He also allowed Mr. Snyder to have First Offender status.

Mr. Snyder was driving south on Newmantown Road in Grovetown on May 24, 2004, when he missed the stop sign at Gordon Highway and crashed into the side of another vehicle, Assistant District Attorney Adam King said. John E. Grant, his father-in- law, was a passenger in Mr. Snyder's car. Both men and the other driver were taken to the hospital. Mr. Grant, 44, did not appear to be seriously injured, but he died 10 days later because of a head injury.

Mr. King said he was willing to negotiate a plea because of the Feb. 25 Georgia Supreme Court ruling that said the officer who obtained Mr. Snyder's consent to a blood test should have first obtained a search warrant.

Mr. Snyder's blood-alcohol level was 0.113, said defense attorney Brendan Fleming. Mr. Grant's was 0.207.

Mr. Grant's widow, Sue Grant, and daughter, Poppy Snyder, pleaded with the judge to forgo a prison term.

"We've been through enough," Mrs. Grant said.

Mr. Snyder hasn't had any traffic violations since the wreck, but he had a DUI conviction from March 2002.

According to court records and an Augusta Chronicle report, Mr. Snyder was driving on Gordon Highway when Marvin E. Brown, 43, pulled out in front of him. Mr. Brown was killed, and sheriff's officers found Mr. Brown at fault.