CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A year after a drunken driving wreck took a homeless man's life, the woman who was behind the wheel pled guilty to killing him.

Early Thursday, Aren McCoy told a courtroom she was responsible for hitting and killing David Ray Chisholm as he walked along South Boulevard last October. McCoy had a .18 blood alcohol level at the time of the wreck.

In exchange for her guilty plea, she’ll spend 45 days behind bars, which she can serve on weekends.

In court McCoy cried and held her attorney’s hand as she apologized to Chisholm’s family.

“My client was very remorseful from the beginning,” attorney Charles Alton said.

Deborah Peterson, the victim's sister, said now her family can begin to heal.

“I'm glad to know that she pled guilty today, and I have released everything and I have forgiven her and I can live on with my life,” she said.

Many knew Chisholm as Brother Ray -- a painter who chose to live his life on the streets. His paintings still hang in galleries, homes and homeless shelters throughout Charlotte.

Peterson said her brother touched many through his artwork.

“His painting was a ministry for him. He would paint things and tell people stories about the bible,” she said. “He would not take anything for them, no money, he would say, ‘With these pieces that you have, you have a piece of me and remember the story I told you.’”

Peterson said there's comfort in knowing her brother’s legacy lives on. His family hopes to have a art show to display his work sometime soon.

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