School board president sentenced in hit, run death

GREENSBURG, La. (AP) — A state district judge has sentenced Livingston Parish School Board President Malcolm Sibley to a suspended 90-day jail term after Sibley pleaded no contest in a June 15 fatal hit-and-run crash in St. Helena Parish.
The 66-year-old Sibley entered his plea Friday to the misdemeanor hit-and-run charge in front of state District Judge Bob Morrison.
Morrison also sentenced Sibley to probation for two years, $500 fine and court costs
Sibley was accused of leaving the scene after his truck hit and killed 21-year-old William Cody Iasigi, of Liberty, Miss., while Iasigi stood next to the truck he was driving on La. 43 just north of Greensburg.
Sibley had planned on making his plea Nov. 8, but Judge Elizabeth Wolfe, who was handling the docket that day, decided to delay the case and let Morrison, the judge assigned to Sibley's case, take the plea.
Sibley's no contest plea means he is not admitting guilt but will not contest the hit-and-run charge.
It has the same effect as a guilty plea in criminal court, and Louisiana law still considers a no contest plea as a conviction if a sentence is imposed. But it can't be used as an admission of guilt in civil court.
Sibley's attorney, Sherman Mack, has said Sibley thought he hit a deer or metal object and did not see a person in the roadway. He has said Sibley regrets the accident and is ready to accept his punishment.
Iasigi's family in October filed a civil lawsuit against Sibley seeking damages. That case is still pending in court.
Iasigi's family has expressed outrage over Sibley's case, especially after a St. Helena grand jury indicted Sibley on a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge instead of the felony count he was booked on.
Sibley, a Democrat from Walker, won his first election to the School Board in 1994. He lost his seat in 2006 but regained it in 2010.