All eyes in the hushed courtroom turned to the  mother of two young boys, a double amputee pushing her wheelchair to the podium to address the convicted man who changed her life forever.

“It’s very difficult to express my feelings,” Lilian Clark said through a Spanish interpreter, crying often and wiping her face with a tissue. “My life has been destroyed. I miss my children. I have to ask other people for help. I am happy I am alive, but I hope my future could be like my past. I thank everyone who has supported me with their prayers. I really need my children, but I can’t take care of them at this time. I just don’t think I can say any more.”

On Friday, Francisco Pacheco, 24, received the maximum state prison sentence of eight years for hit-and-run and DUI in the crash that injured Clark.

On Feb. 3, Pacheco’s car struck Clark on South Terrace Drive, just after she secured her two sons, ages 4 and 6, in their car seats. She was double-parked and had her vehicle flashers on at the time.

Clark had walked around the rear of her car to get into the driver’s seat when Pacheco drove his 1990 Plymouth over a slight hill and crashed into the back of Clark’s car, pinning her between his front bumper and her rear bumper.

Clark suffered injuries that resulted in the amputation of both her legs above the knees.

At Friday’s sentencing Clark, who is a native of Chile, was accompanied by her husband John Clark and her parents, who have traveled from Chile to take care of their daughter.

Clark’s husband, John, addressed Napa County Superior Court Judge Diane Price.

“This was no accident. Everything leading up to that terrible day was deliberate. ... Pacheco made a deliberate decision to disregard our laws and drive drunk without insurance or a license ... my wife  surely would have not lost her legs that day, and my children would have a normal upbringing,” John Clark said.

“Financially we are destroyed, emotionally and physically we are destroyed.”

Although Pacheco did not speak during his sentencing, he did cry frequently, wiping his eyes with tissues.

In addition to the criminal charges, Pacheco faces possible deportation because he is in the country illegally. This is his third DUI arrest.

At the time he injured Clark, he was on probation for a previous DUI. When he was involved in the accident that injured Clark, his blood alcohol was .24 percent, according to Napa County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold, three times above the legal limit.

Once outside the courtroom after the sentencing, Lilian Clark hugged her parents and in-laws.

“This part of the tragedy is over. Now I need to concentrate on my children,” she said, as her mother stroked her hair.

Clark is still recovering from the crash and is preparing to be fitted for her prothesis.