Ex-NYPD Officer Sentenced in Hit-Run That Killed Girl, 13

The former NYPD officer who left the scene after hitting and killing a girl with Down syndrome with his car on Long Island was sentenced to between one year and four months to four years behind bars Tuesday.

Michael Elardo, 48, of Syosset, pleaded guilty in August to felony charges in exchange for receiving the sentence, which is lower than the state's maximum punishment. 

The 13-year NYPD veteran who retired on disability in 1998 after an injury admitted to hitting 13-year-old Bryanna Soplin with his car as the girl crossed Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown June 15. 

Soplin was taken to the hospital with head and body trauma and died about four hours after the impact.

Elardo surrendered to police a day later. His attorney said at the time that the single father of four didn't pull over because he thought he had hit a traffic cone. But at his plea hearing, Elardo said he knew it was a body, and not a cone, that he had hit.

Soplin's mother, Jennifer Curuchaga, took to the stand during a sentencing hearing Tuesday, saying the former cop had destroyed her family. The teen's 11-year-old brother also spoke in court, saying "I miss Bryanna."

Elardo, who had apologized to Soplin's mother and grandmother when he pleaded guilty, again asked for forgiveness from the family, but the mother said she couldn't forgive him.

"Even though he could apologize a 100,000 times, it's not going to cover up for what he did," Curuchaga said after the hearing.

After the sentencing Tuesday, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice issued a news release calling for stiffer penalties for hit-and-run crashes. Currently, the maximum sentence for the crime is a 7 year prison stint, but Rice called for it to be increased to 15 years.

“It’s not enough for drivers to apologize after leaving the scene – the law needs to change to discourage drivers from fleeing in the first place,” Rice said. 

The NYPD has said the department has not had contact with Elardo since he retired on disability.

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