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<P>Oct 22, 2004</P>
<H2>Driver Sentenced in Dragging Death</H2>The Associated
Press<BR><BR><BR>FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - <STRONG>A driver who ran over a man on an
interstate highway and dragged him nine miles to his death was sentenced Friday
to just over a <EM><U>year</U></EM> in prison.</STRONG>
<P>Josuel Galdino, 25, cried throughout the hearing and told the judge he would
trade his life if it would bring his victim back.
<P>On Feb. 29, Galdino hit Fitsum Gebreegziabher, 27, who had left his car to
check on a flat tire on Interstate 95 in Springfield, Va., when he was struck.
His body was caught in the front suspension of Galdino's vehicle and was dragged
to Galdino's Lorton, Va., home.
<P>He telephoned police to say he had hit someone, and officers found the body
in the parking lot outside Galdino's town house.
<P>Galdino pleaded guilty in June to involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors
dropped charges of driving while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run as part of
the plea bargain. Galdino has said he did not have alcohol in his system when he
hit Galdino.
<P>In Fairfax County Circuit Court on Friday for sentencing, Galdino said: "I
know I have made a mistake. I'm sorry for everything."
<P>Judge Arthur B. Vieregg brushed aside a prosecution request for the maximum
10-year sentence and sentenced Galdino to five years with all but one year and
four months suspended.
<P>The judge called Galdino "a sensitive and religious young man."
<P>AP-ES-10-22-04 1838EDT <BR><BR><B>This story can be found at:</B> <A
href="http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBULAFXM0E.html">http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBULAFXM0E.html</A><BR></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>