UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — The driver in a hit-and-run crash that left a University of Maryland student dead has been sentenced to two years in prison, the maximum under a plea deal between Liam Adepo and prosecutors.
Adepo faced the victim’s family in a Prince George’s County courtroom Friday and sobbed, saying he feels “ashamed” and “sickened.”
The 30-year-old admits he had been drinking before the crash on January 17, 2014.
Wiping away tears, Adepo begged for forgiveness and said he would be living with guilt for the rest of his life.
Adepo was driving in College Park early in the morning when he struck and killed Cory Hubbard, a 22-year old senior at the University of Maryland.
Hubbard was crossing Route 1, a stretch of road that proved deadly for pedestrians on numerous occasions last year.
Adepo left the scene, but he later turned himself in. He pleaded guilty in November to leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Hubbard’s mother, Holly Hubbard, struggled to form sentences as she wept and addressed the court Friday.
She said she “cries every day” thinking about her late son, and she still cannot believe he is gone.
Ralph Hubbard, the victim’s father, also stood up and spoke, wiping away tears and describing the pain of sitting down during Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners without his beloved son.
There were so many people crying in the courtroom that a sheriff’s deputy had to go row by row and hand out tissues.
“There were few dry eyes in this courtroom,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks. “Our hearts really go out to the Hubbard family.”
The Hubbards are from West Hampton Beach, New York.
Adepo’s defense attorney called three character witnesses who described him as a good man who made a terrible mistake.
In the end, the judge said Adepo was not a “criminal,” but he did commit a “criminal act” that night, and she sentenced him to two years behind bars.
Following Adepo’s sentence, he will be required to go through alcohol treatment.
