The car driven by Martyn Crew, 52, from San Carlos, San Francisco, in the US, collided head-on with media graduate Natasha Jackson's vehicle near Kinoulton on Christmas Day last year.
Miss Jackson died following the crash, and Crew later admitted a new charge of causing death by careless driving.
He was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court for 14 months, banned from driving for five years, and ordered to take an extended test before driving again in the UK.
Following the sentencing, Miss Jackson's mother Ann, 51, said: "Martyn Crew not only destroyed our lives by his careless and thoughtless driving, but he has taken away Tasha's future, which is something we can never forgive or forget. Tasha was a lovely girl, she was my best friend and our only daughter. Since she has died everything has changed, my family has been destroyed."
Head of Nottinghamshire Police crash investigation unit Detective Inspector Andrew Hall added: "This collision has taken the life of a bright star in our society and devastated the lives of her family and friends."
Copyright © Press Association 2009.
