By Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An illegal immigrant who drove away after hitting a toddler in a Salem parking lot has been sentenced to one year and five months in prison.

Juan Lopez-Perez pleaded guilty Thursday morning to failing to perform the duties of a driver in a crash.

Defense attorney Steven Walls said his client left the scene Nov. 24 because a crowd was gathering, he feared for his safety and he was in the country illegally.
Before his conviction, the district attorney’s office said Lopez-Perez told witnesses he knew he’d struck and killed a child and that he tried to hide his truck and attempted to leave when police found him on Maple Avenue in Salem.

Neither drugs nor alcohol contributed to the collision that killed his neighbor - 2-year-old Erika Rubi Meza.

Walls said the 31-year-old Lopez-Perez has been married for 16 years, has three children and no prior criminal record.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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