Elizabeth Dove, 24, crashed into the teens on Jan. 15 while she was taking video of her 3-year-old son in the back seat of her car.
Dove averted her gaze as the three teens talked about their lives since the crash and their lingering injuries.
Judge Eric Bloch ordered Dove to serve 30 days for third-degree assault beginning in December and another 120 days for reckless driving starting in June, when she finishes her semester at Mount Hood Community College.
Dove must serve three years of probation and complete 200 hours of community service, including making public service announcements on distracted driving. She can't have a cellphone that has texting capabilities or is equipped with a camera while on probation. The judge allowed up to a year to determine a restitution amount for the three girls.
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Annamarie Shoen requested that Dove be sentenced to a year in jail, while defense attorney Casey Kovacic asked that his client, a part-time dental assistant, avoid incarceration and be placed on probation.
Bloch said he wanted the sentence to send a strong message to Dove and the community about the consequences of distracted driving, but he didn't want to derail her pursuit of an education and ability to earn money to pay restitution.
Shoen said the case showed distracted driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk because Dove's attention wasn't on the road. And the teens will never be the same as a result, she said.
"(Dove) made one really bad choice," Shoen said, "and that one really bad choice has robbed these children of hundreds of choices they could make in their lives."