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Driver In Fatal Brentwood Hit-And-Run Sentenced To 1 Year, But Walks Free With Time Served

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A hit-and-run driver's sentencing on Long Island Wednesday became a call for change in drunken driving laws.

As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, Suffolk County Judge Stephen Braslow had an earful for defendant Craig Perkins as he sentenced him for killing a college student in a hit-and-run nearly three years ago.

Kieran Smith, 21, was killed in the April 1, 2012, accident on the Sagtikos State Parkway in Brentwood. Smith had been walking to get help along the Long Island Expressway service road after his car borke down.

Perkins, 55, claimed he didn't know he struck anyone until the following day.

Driver In Fatal Brentwood Hit-And-Run To Be Sentenced Wednesday

Judge Braslow called Perkins a liar at Wednesday's sentencing, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported.

"This is the new norm now. I have three or four cases like this now," Braslow said in court. "People get intoxicated, they hit somebody on the road, and they leave, because they know."

Braslow continued as he raised his voice: "You snuffed that life out because number one, you were drunk when you hit him; number two, you know you hit him; and number three, you left him there to die!"

The judge complied with the agreed-upon sentence of one year behind bars and five years of probation. After being credited with time served, Perkins walked free.

But the judge echoed the victim's father's call to fix the law.

Harry Smith, the victim's father, was infuriated by the sentence and is pushing for changes to laws that he says encourage drivers to flee the scene after a crash.

"Had he stopped and helped my son and been found drunk, he would have gone to jail for 10 years," Smith told Xirinachs. "To leave the scene of an accident, they may not catch you, and if they do, you get a year in jail. And that's what this guy has gotten."

Perkins could have faced 25 years in prison if he had tested legally drunk at the scene.

"We have to change this that people will be encouraged to stay and help," Smith said. "Rather than encouraging them to run, encourage them to stop and help people."

In reading a statement at his sentencing hearing, Perkins again claimed he had no idea he'd hit a person when he heard a thump.

"A million sorries will never be enough," he said. "By not being there, I have no credibility in my statements. My regrets run deep, profound and real."

But the apology offered little comfort to the Smith family. They said it is time to make the punishment for fleeing a fatal accident equal to, or greater than, driving drunk.

Under the sentence Perkins did receive, he must wear a GPS tracking device and an alcohol monitoring device. His driving privileges are also revoked.

Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota has also called for changes in sentencing guidelines for leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

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