Mastic man pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run

A Mastic man pleaded guilty Wednesday to running over a Shirley woman and fleeing the scene, the Suffolk district attorney's office said.

Preston Mimms, 47, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident and to second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, said district attorney's office spokesman Robert Clifford.

Mimms was charged in April with killing Erika Hughes, 24, as she walked along Mastic Road in Mastic Beach late at night on July 29, 2011. Witnesses told police she was killed by a dark blue truck.

In return for the plea, Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson agreed to sentence Mimms to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison, Clifford said.

When Mimms is sentenced on Jan. 4, Clifford said his office will recommend the maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.

Mimms is represented by the Legal Aid Society, which has a policy of not commenting on cases.