Ohio man sentenced to 1 year for fatal hit-skip of 5-year-old boy

CLEVELAND (AP) — A man has been sentenced to a year in prison for a hit-skip accident that resulted in the death of a 5-year-old boy running for a school bus in Cleveland in 2013.

Jerome Lee, 25, of Cleveland pleaded guilty last month to failure to stop after an accident and was sentenced today in Cleveland. Lee will receive credit for 217 days he’s spent in jail.

Lee was charged in the death of Israel Thornton, who died at a hospital after being struck Oct. 26, 2013. Lee was indicted last August after police received a tip that it was Lee’s SUV that struck Israel.

Attorney Brian McGraw says Lee is remorseful but added that the boy ran into the intersection and that his client wasn’t responsible for the boy’s death.