Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell will spend six months in Santa Clara County Jail on a drunken-driving charge. He pleaded no contest to DUI with injury and hit-and-run charges from a Sept. 4 accident on the Milpitas-San Jose border, Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson stated.

Bell had faced almost four years in prison if convicted of the original charges. He issued a statement underlining the fact that he entered the plea bargain so he could accept responsibility for his mistake.

"I am deeply sorry for the hurt that I have caused to others and for the way in which my actions reflected upon the San Jose Sharks, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and upon myself.”

According to Bell's lawyer, Ken Robinson, as part of the plea agreement, the DUI charge remained a felony and the hit-and-run charge was reduced from felony to misdemeanour. A sentencing date has not been decided yet, but Bell will serve his sentence during the next two summers so it he can play for the Maple Leafs in the hockey season.

Bell reeked of alcohol according to witnesses and he blew .201 in a breathalyzer test. A blood test after the accident showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, while the legal limit was 0.08.

His victim, Jose Villafana will receive compensatory payment for his medical bills and the costs involved in repairing the car hit by the hokey player and this before Oct.22, when Bell will be back in court with the evidence he’s made the payments and then the sentence date can be set.