NEW CITY - A town judge spared the driver in a 2017 fatal hit-and-run jail time today, despite citing her "horrendous" driving record.

Jodi Sarf's poor driving skills caused the crash on Dec. 19, 2017, that killed Manuel Aguaiza, said town justice Howard Gerber.

Gerber said Sarf's Mercedes SUV struck the victim while she was looking for her wallet, which she thought she left in a nearby bar.

Sarf was sentenced by Gerber to one year of conditional release, a $500 fine and a license suspension after pleading guilty in July to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death without reporting it, a misdemeanor.

Gerber pointed out that she had been in court in Rockland and Westchester counties for numerous prior instances of speeding, some of which were pleaded down to lesser infractions.

"This tragedy was in the making for years," he said.

Sarf, dressed in black and with her sunglasses perched atop her head, broke down while apologizing in front of a courtroom audience that included her friends and family members, as well as Aguaiza's relatives and supporters.

"I just want the court and Mr. Aguaiza's family to know that I am very sorry that he lost his life," said the 48-year-old Congers woman said between sobs. "I will forever live with this and I feel terrible for their loss and the pain that they're suffering. Had I known for one moment that I had hit somebody, I would have pulled over and done everything I can to help them. I am so sorry for the family."

Her lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, called the case one "that breaks the heart of any decent caring person, and that in fact is what Jody Sarf is."

NEW CITY: Jodi Sarf pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run

CLARKSTOWN: Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run

NEW CITY: Jodi Sarf's lawyer predicts she'll be cleared in fatal hit-and-run

CLARKSTOWN: Hit and run victim was 'happy-go-lucky guy'

Aguaiza was struck about 10:30 p.m. as he was crossing Route 304 at Third Street. He lived a few blocks from the site of the accident and had gone out for an after-dinner smoke that night.

The Ecuadoran native known as "Manny" died nearly a month later at Westchester Medical Center.

Sarf, a single mother of three children, was originally charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a felony.

In explaining why the prosecution didn't seek to convict her of the felony charge, First Assistant District Attorney James Mellion said evidence uncovered by his office and Clarkstown police determined that Sarf had only had two drinks at a local bar over two hours that evening — not enough to cause intoxication.

Her car was traveling under the the 30 mph speed limit when it struck Aguaiza, he said.

Mellion added Clarkstown's accident investigation team attributed the principal cause of the accident to Aguaiza's failure to yield the right of way and because he didn't cross the road at a marked crosswalk.

Sarf first learned of the crash through friends she had been with that night, and soon realized she had been involved, Mellion said. She urged her lawyer to go immediately to the police. The lawyer did not go, and she went to authorities the following day.

'He will never go home'

Barry Kantrowitz, the lawyer for Aguaiza's family, acknowledged that the 47-year-old man was an undocumented immigrant, but said had lived in Rockland for 18 years, working for a local contractor, paying taxes and sending money home to his aging parents in Ecuador.

Kantrowitz criticized Sarf for leaving him in the road critically injured.

"Even if she thought she hit a deer, or a dog, or a mailbox or signpost — she should have stopped — but she didn't," he said in court.

Kantrowitz said Aguaiza's family expressed to him that they hoped that when Sarf "gets to go home with her family tonight — free of her concerns about potentially going to jail — that she recognizes that Manuel is still dead, he will never go home and that his family, friends and co-workers and his customers never get to see him, speak to him, laugh with him again."

Outside the courtroom afterward, Aguaiza's cousin, Juan Duy, spoke of the heavy blow his death had dealt to the family. He and other relatives held signs that read #justice_formanny.

“He’s like a father to my kids,” Duy said.

But he added he was not angered by the lack of a jail sentence because Sarf had three children to care for.

Kantrowitz is representing Aguaiza's family in a civil lawsuit in state Supreme Court against Sarf and HRI Consulting, a New City company that owned the 2015 Mercedes SUV she was driving the night of the fatal crash.

The lawsuit contends the car was driven in a "negligent, careless and reckless fashion at excessive speed and without due care."

The legal action filed in May is seeking unspecified wrongful death damages including funeral and burial costs, and attorney's fees.

Kantrowitz said Sarf would be deposed after the criminal case concluded.

He said Gerber's remarks referring to the crash as a “distracted driving” case established Sarf's negligence and contradicts the conclusion regarding Aguaiza's culpability

The response on behalf of Sarf and HRI by White Plains attorney Dennis Doyle counters that Aguaiza's injuries were not caused by the defendants but rather "may have been due to" Aguaiza's "physical condition, illness, contributory negligence ... contributory and/or culpable conduct."

A message left for Doyle on Wednesday was not returned. Phone numbers listed for HRI in New City and Long Island were disconnected.

'Horrendous driving record'

The one-year conditional discharge means Sarf must stay out of trouble with the law or face imprisonment. She must attend a victim impact panel, perform community service and take a defensive driving class.

Her license is revoked until the Department of Motor Vehicles decides when to give it back.

Before pronouncing the sentence, Gerber criticized Sarf's prior driving history.

"You have what one would consider a horrendous driving record, yet you have very few convictions," he said, noting prior speeding convictions and other cases that were pleaded down to parking tickets.

Twitter: Bee_bob