By Shawna Morrison
CHRISTIANSBURG — More than four years after a Virginia Tech student died after being run over by an SUV, the case against the driver was dropped Monday.
Aaron Pierce, 23, of Roanoke was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Brian Joseph McCloskey, who died five days after being run over by a Ford Excursion the morning of Nov. 5, 2005.
The charge was dismissed Monday after Pierce had completed all the court’s requirements of him.
"This was a very tragic event that had the appearance of being more of an accident" rather than a criminal offense, said Pierce’s attorney, Tony Anderson.
McCloskey, 18, of Maryland was found Nov. 5 lying in a grassy area near a bicycle trail close to Pheasant Ridge Crossing in Blacksburg.
At first, police thought he had been beaten. It was later determined he had been struck by a vehicle.
McCloskey had gone to a party Nov. 4 and left about midnight, visibly intoxicated, his friends later said.
Pierce spent that night shuttling people to and from parties in the SUV he had borrowed from his roommate, at times taking a shortcut through the grassy area where McCloskey was found.
At a hearing in February 2007, Pierce entered an Alford plea to the involuntary manslaughter charge, allowing him to maintain his innocence while admitting there was enough evidence for a conviction.
In an unusual agreement, Pierce was essentially sentenced without a conviction at a hearing four months later.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Bobby Turk agreed to withhold a finding for three years, but ordered Pierce to spend 30 days in jail, perform 300 hours of community service and attend Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program classes. Pierce lost his driver’s license for 12 months and paid $12,800 to McCloskey’s family for his funeral expenses and gravestone.
"The victim’s family was very much involved" in how the case was handled at that time, Turk said Monday.
Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch said McCloskey’s family members, though they weren’t at Monday’s hearing, were also involved in the final outcome of the case.
"They feel, judge, that the charge should be dismissed," he told Turk.
"I can report that he’s done extremely well on probation," Finch said of Pierce.
He said Pierce hasn’t had so much as a traffic violation in the past three years.
https://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/251123oldId.20100625102614122
Biking in Baltimore