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Man pleads guilty to fatal hit-and-run; victim's wife asks for lesser sentence

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Gilverto Corniel appeared in court Wednesday after he was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run last November.

Corniel was charged with the death of Joshua Moore after hitting him with his car on Heckle Boulevard, then leaving the scene.

[PAST: Police ID man, woman in connection with Rock Hill deadly hit-and-run]

Corniel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

"He just missed them by inches, and unfortunately went right between them and their son Joshua,” prosecutor Willy Thompson.

Corniel and his girlfriend, Victoria Kistler, had just shot up with meth at a nearby Burger King, they argued and then he left her in the road and sped off in the stolen car, hitting Moore, whose mother saw it happen.

"In the blink of an eye, right in front of my very own eyes, my only son was taken from me,” said Cindy Adams, Moore’s mother.

Channel 9 was in court for the trial.

"On Nov. 12th, my nightmare became my reality,” Adams said during her testimony.

Moore’s wife, Scarlett Moore, said Joshua Moore was her happiness. She also said she has forgiven Corniel.

Scarlett Moore asked the judge for a lesser sentence so that Corniel can have a life her husband couldn't.

"This way, a young man has a chance at a future, a chance to live a life that my husband no longer has,” Scarlett Moore said.

However, the prosecutor in the case asked for a stiff sentence against Corniel.

"Joshua Moore was a good young man with dreams. He's never coming back," the prosecutor said.

Corniel also spoke at the stand. He said he'll never forgive himself but he prays for God's forgiveness.

"As I lie awake on many sleepless nights over the past several months praying for God's forgiveness, I fully realize that I may never be able to forgive myself,” Corniel said.

Corniel called the victim's family "beautiful people."

The family said they have forgiven him.

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