ALBANY - New York's top court on Thursday threw out the homicide conviction of a teenager who spent almost two years in state prison essentially for speeding.

Brett Cabrera was driving four friends to a lake for a swim after school when he crashed the sport utility vehicle. Three died and the fourth teenager was seriously injured. Cabrera, the only one who wore a seat belt, survived the June 2004 wreck, but faced charges of assault and three homicide counts.

Although no drinking or drugs were involved, he was convicted and spent the next two years in state prison, including serving time in a maximum security facility. Now the Court of Appeals says the tragedy was an accident, not a crime.

“I'm trying to get a career in occupational therapy, so this will help,” Cabrera, now 20, said by phone from Orlando, Fla.

He declined to talk about the case, saying he wanted to put it all behind him. “I just want to live my life to the fullest.”

The Court of Appeals, divided 4-3, dismissed the assault and homicide convictions against Cabrera in Sullivan County Court.

The court majority said there needed to be another “morally blameworthy component” besides speeding to sustain criminal negligence. They said Cabrera, as an inexperienced driver, simply misjudged the risk and his skill on the curve where the SUV went off the road.

Investigators said he was driving 70 to 72 mph. The speed limit was 55 on the road and a nearby sign indicated “40 mph curve.” Cabrera was also found guilty of reckless driving and several traffic violations.

Killed were Maximilian Gonzalez, 18, of Monticello; Sierra Cerrone, 14, of Harris; and Ashley Morgan, 15, of Monticello. Another passenger, 17-year-old Santiago Mendoza of Monticello, was injured.

In the decision by Judge Susan Read, the court majority said Mendoza's trial testimony didn't support the prosecutor's inference that Cabrera was showing off. Mendoza said the others were talking among themselves and listening to rap music while Cabrera drove. Cabrera tested free of alcohol or drugs.

“For a 17-year-old to badly misgauge his ability to handle road conditions is not the kind of seriously condemnatory behavior that the Legislature envisioned when it defined 'criminal negligence,' even though the consequences here were fatal,” Read concluded. “This crash resulted from noncriminal failure to perceive risk; it was not the result of criminal risk creation.”