A Massachusetts woman charged with striking and killing a man with her car as he checked his mailbox has avoided jail thanks to a plea for mercy from the victim's widow.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that 62-year-old Sharon Ricci originally faced a motor vehicle homicide charge in the November 2016 death of 68-year-old William Krukowski in Charlton. If convicted, Ricci faced time behind bars.

Prosecutors say Krukowski's widow, Margaret, asked that the motor vehicle homicide charge be dropped because sending Ricci to prison would be a burden to her family.

Instead, Ricci pleaded guilty to negligent driving and was sentenced Thursday to three years' probation.

Ricci was not impaired by drugs or alcohol, and mechanical failure, weather, speed and medical issues were ruled out as factors in the crash.

___

Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com