A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Monday after taking a plea deal for killing a teen boy in a hit-and-run incident last year.
James Shulski, 36, received a sentence of 2.5 to 5 years in state prison for the death of Harlem Dennis after he accepted a plea deal in September.
The agreement included acknowledging wrongdoing in breaking “stop-and-render-aid” regulations and a reduced charge linked to accidents causing death or injury. Prosecutors agreed to lessen the offense from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony as part of the deal.
The plea deal also halved his prison sentence,according to the Courier Times.
At the hearing on Monday, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Finley underscored to Shulski that despite the plea agreement, he still left a child to perish.
“There is nothing that can bring Harlem back, nothing that can fill this void in my children and my hearts,” remarked Terandace Dennis, the mother of the victim, in an interview with the Courier Times after Shulski’s sentencing.
“But I would like to see this man be away from his family like Harlem is away from his,” she added.
Before sentencing, Shulski’s attorney, Paul Lang, read a letter of apology to the Dennis family, expressing Shulski’s “deep regrets” for the “terrible actions” he took on July 2023 when he struck and killed Dennis as the boy crossed a street in Bensalem.
Shulski reportedly expressed remorse for leaving the scene and promised to find a way to make amends with the Dennis family. However, Terandace Dennis believes he cannot provide what they truly want.
“I can’t help but to think what if the driver stopped and called for help instead of getting out of the car and looking at my 14-year-old son and then getting back in his car and driving off and going about his night,” she said “He left him there like roadkill.”
Two months before the crash, Shulski was arrested on DUI charges in and later convicted, receiving a sentence of 72 hours to six months in jail.
[Feature Photo: Harlem Dennis/Handout]
