SPRINGFIELD - Christopher J. Lemek Jr. was sentenced Monday to serve one year in jail after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Anonymous calls initially led police to Lemek, 40, of Monson, but they could not find the truck that was supposed to have been involved in the crash that killed Gary LeBlanc of Palmer at about 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve of 2015.

LeBlanc, 59, was killed in a crosswalk on North Main Street in Palmer. Lemek was not charged in the death of LeBlanc in the crash. LeBlanc lived in an apartment right by the crash site.

It was later found Lemek, using equipment from his family's construction company, buried the pickup truck in his yard at 80 Bethany Road.

The sentence from Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney was actually two years in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow, with a year to be served and the rest suspended with two years probation.

Lemek got a concurrent sentence of one year after also pleading guilty to violation of an ignition interlock device requirement.

That charge refers to a restriction on Lemek's license that stems from a 2013 Palmer drunken driving case.

The restriction requires Lemek to drive a vehicle that is outfitted with a handheld breath-alcohol monitoring device that is electronically connected to a vehicle's ignition. The truck did not have that device, police said, although Lemek's personal vehicle does.

Lemek had been released on his own recognizance awaiting trial.

Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth had asked Sweeney to sentence Lemek to a total of four years in the Ludlow jail, with 21/2 years to be served and the rest suspended with two years probation.

Lemek sobbed through some of the plea session, at the end apologizing tearfully to LeBlanc's brother in the courtroom and to his own family.

Sweeney, just before Lemek was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, told him to "pull it together."

She said immersing himself in guilt - which could turn to self pity - about his actions will not honor LeBlanc's memory and will not help LeBlanc's family or Lemek's children.

Forsyth said Palmer police gathered video surveillance from store cameras in the area. He said there is a crosswalk where LeBlanc crossed but it was not painted in the same way as others on that road.

LeBlanc was wearing dark clothing and there was little street illumination, he said. It was determined that the speed Lemek was driving was not unreasonable.

When police were led to Lemek by the anonymous calls they did not find the truck at his house. Police got a call from a lawyer saying Lemek wanted to come in and talk.

Lemek on Jan. 8 told police what he had done. Forsyth said Lemek told police he hit something but did not stop. Lemek said he heard on the news about the fatality and "went numb."

He said he dug a hole in the back yard and covered up the truck.

Defense lawyer Thomas Rooke said alcohol was not a factor. He said about an hour after the crash, Lemek got into his personal vehicle and the ignition lock device measured his blood alcohol at zero.

"It's a tragic accident," Rooke said.

He said Lemek, who is a good person, went to police because "he had to get it off his chest."