Woman sentenced in man's death

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A woman who pleaded guilty to running over a Valentine's Day date twice with her car, fatally crushing him, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Judge Judith Kilbane Koch of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court sentenced Leah Kravochuck, 36, of Cleveland, on Monday to eight years in prison on one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of driving under the influence. The judge gave Kravochuck an additional three years for bribery after she offered a Cleveland police officer $5,000 and sex if he would release her.
Kravochuck could have been sentenced to as many as 15 years for aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of James Ivinskas on Feb. 14.
Prosecutors dropped a murder charge in exchange for Kravochuck's July 26 guilty plea. She also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and bribery.
Kravochuck met Ivinskas, 36, of Euclid, at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Police and prosecutors say they're still not sure what led Kravochuck and Ivinskas to fight on the night of Valentine's Day.
Based on interviews, they have said Kravochuck had tears in her eyes after she returned home about 8:30 p.m., and left Ivinskas smoking a cigarette in her driveway.
Then, Kravochuck got in her car to take home a baby sitter. She reversed the car and drove over Ivinskas, who was standing behind the car. Shifting into drive, she drove over him a second time.
Kravochuck's lawyer, Stuart Lippe, said after court that the sentence was ridiculous.
"It was an accident," Lippe said. "They both were intoxicated that night."
Assistant County Prosecutor Frankie Goldberg said that the death was not an accident and Kravochuck needs to take responsibility for her actions.