BOSTON -- A father of four admitted he was driving drunk when he struck a Milton firefighter.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that it was not the first time C.W. Tolbert faced such charges.

VIDEO: Drunken Driver Apologizes To Victim's Family

"And I hope you and your family someday can find deep in your hearts a way to forgive me," Tolbert wrote in a letter read in court.

His letter apologized to the victim, Antonio Pickens, who is recovering from surgery he had just days ago -- one of many operations.

Pickens is a Milton firefighter who crossed the street from his firehouse last June to help out in a minor auto accident. Tolbert was driving up Route 138 and struck him. The firefighter's body was tossed 84 feet in the air. In a coma for weeks, he was not expected to survive.

"The pain he has caused has been trying and unbearable at times," Pickens' sister, Robin Hayes, said.

In court, the victim's sister said Tolbert's actions hurt Pickens, his wife, their two teenagers and countless others. After Tolbert's guilty plea, the judge gave a sentence the two sides worked out: three years in the house of correction, followed by five years probation.

It is Tolbert's third drunken driving offense. He has already been in custody for about a year.

"This is his third offense. Who knows how many other times he's gotten behind the wheel and driven drunk? And something more needs to be done," Hayes said. "Maybe that someone will read this and understand that maybe I should think twice about this, because my brother's life is forever changed."

Pickens has repeatedly vowed he will return to work.