Jail term for driver in cover-up

A mother of four who admitted leaving the scene of a fatal accident on Route 309, then having her car torched and reporting it stolen, was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Carmen Marie Burgos, 33, of Allentown was charged in the Nov. 24 death of Lorraine Gibbons, 67. She pleaded guilty in March to leaving the scene, soliciting arson, criminal conspiracy to engage in arson, tampering with evidence, and filing a false report with law enforcement.

Burgos tearfully apologized several times to the victim's daughter and to her own family.

"It was just a mistake. I wish I could go back again," she said Friday.

Defense attorney Raymond J. Lynn called the accident a tragedy for both families, and said his client had been overtaken by fear and given bad advice.

Prosecutors, however, said Burgos' actions after the crash were the worst part of the crime.

"It appeared to me that she tried to mitigate her responsibility by the steps she took to cover her tracks," Senior Deputy District Attorney Robert James said.

Gibbons' daughter Kelly, who found her mother lying dead along the highway, said she bore Burgos no ill will.