Woman gets 30 years in hit-and-run

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A woman who was convicted of second-degree murder in a fatal hit-and-run accident has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Circuit Judge Henry Westbrook followed a jury's recommendation Friday when he sentenced Crystal Dianne Pacheco to 30 years on the murder charge, five years for drunken driving, two years for leaving the scene of an accident and one year for driving on a revoked license. The sentences will run concurrently.

In September, the jury found Pacheco, 38, guilty in the death of Walcie Cory, 63. She was walking home from her job Sept. 23, 2000, when she was hit by a car. Police found Cory's body the next day, face down in a ditch.

Pacheco admitted to police that she had been drunk that night, but denied driving her blue van, which police said was the vehicle that hit Cory.

Pacheco still maintains she was not driving when Cory was hit, her attorney, Jon Van Arkel, said at Friday's sentencing.