Daniel pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. The L.A. County D.A.'s Office tells us, as part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the 2nd-degree murder charge. He'll be sentenced next month. As we reported ... Daniel's attorney was confident he would beat the murder charge following the fatal crash of a McLaren sports car back in May.

We broke the story ... Daniel was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder after Corey died from injuries in a car wreck just hours after they left Corey's 25th birthday party. Corey was a passenger in the car. We were told Daniel was seen drinking before getting behind the wheel of the car.

Our law enforcement sources told us Daniel allegedly tried to flee after the accident but was stopped by witnesses. Corey's cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries.

Daniel's attorney, Mike Cavalluzzi, told us at the time of Daniel's arrest ... "This is a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Corey's family and friends. We are reviewing all of the evidence and will reserve comment for a later time. For now, it is most important that everyone involved is given time and space to grieve."