43
Canfield man agrees to 3-year sentence in dragging death]
YOUNGSTOWN
A Canfield man charged with dragging a man beneath his car after which the victim eventually died likely will spend the next three years in prison.
Bryce Burke, 26, of Mercedes Place, Canfield, appeared Friday before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Burke was set to go on trial Monday on felony counts of failure to stop after an accident and vehicular assault, but he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Under the terms of the agreement, Burke will plead guilty to one count of failure to stop after an accident resulting in death. The vehicular-assault charge will be dismissed.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of three years in prison.
Prosecutors also will not oppose early release after some time in prison, but the family of the victim can object to any early release.
According to police, Burke hit pedestrian Andrew Culp, 22, of North Main Street, Columbiana, just west of Zedaker Street and Midlothian Boulevard on the city’s South Side on Nov. 29, 2007.
Culp is believed to have been dragged a substantial distance after the impact.
Burke was in the McDonald’s drive-through at South Avenue and Midlothian when another motorist told him there was a body under his car, police said.
A witness called 911 and told the police dispatcher there was a body under the car in front of him. By the time police arrived, the car had gone.
Culp was found on the road about two blocks from the McDonald’s. Burke surrendered to detectives a few days later.