HARTFORD, Conn. -- The son and wife of a man sentenced last week for his part in the 2005 Avon Mountain crash that killed four people faced a judge on Tuesday for their roles in the incident.

During the sentencing, the defense argued that Shaun Wilcox, who pleaded guilty in March to doctoring repair slips for dump the truck that caused the crash, is a dedicated son who was helping his father.

VIDEO: Shawn, Donna Wilcox Face Judge RAW VIDEO: Shaun, Donna Wilcox Sentenced SURVEY: Wilcox Sentencing

Prosecutors said the crash, which killed four people and injured several others, was caused by a poorly maintained dump truck with bad brakes that belonged to the company owned by Shaun's father, David Wilcox.

Shaun was issued a five-year suspended sentence in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday for his part in the case surrounding the crash, in which four people were killed, including the driver, and about two dozen people were injured. He was also sentenced to three years of probation in which he must complete 300 hours of community service.

The ruling followed that suggested by the prosecution.

Donna Wilcox was also issued a five-year suspended sentence on charges related to the crash, as well as three years of probation.

As part of her probation, she is required to provide full-time verifiable employment information, complete 300 hours of community service and continue receiving mental health treatment.

The defense argued that Donna, who had previously pleaded no contest to charges that she tried to reinstate insurance coverage after the accident, has been struggling and is just trying to get by.

"Your honor, this whole thing has been a mess, and I've been sorry from day one, but we haven't been able to express our sorrow because of the legal matters," Donna said when she addressed the court. "I've lost everything. All I have left now are my children, and if they lose me they're going to be totally devastated. And I'm just so sorry for everything that's happened. Mr. Malone (the prosecutor) doesn't know me and he never has, so he can't say that I don't care, because I do, and if I could talk to the victim's families and express my sorrow I would, and I just pray that you give me the chance to live my life."

"The fact of the matter is that you had a responsibility, regardless of the direction that your husband gave you, to recognize that that request was a request that you engage in unlawful, deceptive and improper conduct," Judge David Gold said. "And it's, frankly, improper of you now to suggest that you did it only because you were told to do it. You're a mature woman who, frankly, should have known better and didn't."

But in both cases, he said, the actions of Shaun and Donna Wilcox, though serious, didn't warrant a prison sentence.

David Wilcox took a plea deal in the case in March. He was sentenced last Thursday after pleading guilty to a 10-year prison sentence suspended after six years. He was also given five years of probation following the completion of his sentence.

Shaun Wilcox spoke briefly after the sentencing on Tuesday.

"If I could change anything that happened that day, I would," he said. "There's no words that can describe the loss that happened that day, and I just apologize to everyone who was involved."

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