A California man who claimed he was fleeing flesh-eating aliens when he caused a fatal car crash was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison Monday after a jury rejected his mental deficiency claims in July.

Scott Krause, 39, pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder stemming from the January 2004 death of UPS carrier Drew Reynolds, 34, who was on duty when Krause drove a stolen vehicle into Reynolds' service truck.

With the plea entered, a Nevada County jury was left to decide whether Krause, who was high on methamphetamine and in the midst of a day-long crime spree, was legally sane when the incident occurred.

The panel heard evidence from the defense that the father of three believed "man-eating subterranean beings" that he referred to as "hemadrones" were pursuing him when the crash occurred.

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Medical experts also testified that the defendant suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

The jury also learned that the defendant, a known methamphetamine addict with a lengthy drug rap sheet, was under the influence when he carjacked a commercial vehicle and embarked upon a brief joy ride that ended when he drove across several lanes of highway traffic into Reynolds' service vehicle.

The fatal collision was preceded by a home invasion earlier in the day and an alleged domestic dispute in the early morning hours of January 6, 2004.

If the panel of seven women and five men had believed that Krause did not appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions due to a preexisting mental defect, he would have been remanded to the care of a mental health facility.

The victim's family offered words of sorrow and loss in the emotional hearing Monday in Nevada County Superior Court.

"How do you begin to put into words the impact one man has had on my family?" said Lore Reynolds, the victim's wife and mother of their two children, according to The Union. "Instead of [gaining] closure, I am here to plead to the justice system that, once and for all, Scott Krause take responsibility for his actions."

Krause, who will be eligible to face a parole board in 2020, offered an apology.

"There are no words," Krause said, according to The Union. "I'm truly sorry. It was not intentional."

Krause received the mandatory minimum of 15 years plus one year for use of a deadly weapon — the car.