Suspect in fatal hit-and-run pleads guilty, will serve 2 1/2 to 5 years

PITTSBURGH — The suspect accused in a deadly hit-and-run accident last July in Point Breeze reached a plea deal Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Jeffrey McClure was the driver who struck and killed bicyclist James Price, 46, and kept going.

According to police, Price was riding his bicycle near the intersection of Penn Avenue and Pennfield Court on July 25 when the accident took place.

“He really was awesome. He loved people,” Price’s mother, Glenice Price, said Tuesday.

McClure fled the accident scene, but was apprehended about two weeks later after police said they received a tip that he was involved.

Investigators said McClure eventually admitted his involvement in the accident.

Officials said McClure pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count each of accidents involving death or injury and accidents involving death or injury while not properly licensed.

He will serve a two-and-a-half to five-year prison sentence, and was also sentenced to eight years of probation.

“I have forgiven him,” Price’s father, James Price Sr., said after the sentencing Tuesday. “I really have forgiven him. I would have hugged him.”

Judge Beth Lazarra denied McClure’s request to serve his time in the boot camp program.

WPXI