Man Pleads Guilty In Valley Stream Crash That Killed 12-Year-Old Boy

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island man pleaded guilty Friday to driving with a suspended license when he struck and killed a 12-year-old boy last year.

Seventh-grader Zachary Ranftle was walking to Valley Stream Memorial Junior High School last December when he was fatally struck by an SUV.

The driver, 30-year-old Austin Soldano, of Seaford, remained on the scene and was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

The victim's parents quietly cried and held hands in a Nassau County courtroom as Soldano entered his plea.

When he is sentenced in January, Soldano will get six months behind bars -- the maximum sentence allowed under the law.

Ranftle's parents said that's not enough and the law must be changed.

"Something needs to be done. It's not enough, it's not strong enough," Ranftle's mother said.

"When a 12-year-old boy is killed by someone driving who shouldn't have been on the road, a six month sentence is outrageous," Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas said. "The sentence is woefully inadequate, the laws are woefully inadequate and they have to change."

Soldano's driving privileges were yanked after a DWI arrest in August 2014. He also pleaded guilty to that charge and will spend one year in jail, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.

His record also includes guilty pleas for DWI, disorderly conduct, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and reckless driving, CBS2 reported.

Nassau police had said Soldano did nothing criminally wrong when he crashed into the boy crossing the street, because he couldn't see him.

In April, Singas proposed making driving with a suspended or revoked license and killing someone with your car a class D felony, punishable with up to seven years in prison. Driving with a suspended or revoked license and seriously injuring someone would be a class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

Currently, those drivers face an unclassified misdemeanor charge with a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail.