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Ex-lawmaker finishes prison term for hit & run

Ex-lawmaker finishes prison term for hit & run

HARRISBURG -- Thomas Druce, a former state legislator who was sent to prison for a fatal hit-and-run accident, was released today after serving two years.

Mr. Druce, 44, was released on parole from the Laurel Highlands prison in Somerset, a minimum-security facility, at 8:50 a.m., according to state Corrections Department spokeswoman Sue McNaughton.

Mr. Druce, who is from Bucks County in suburban Philadelphia, will serve the next two years on parole. During that time, he will be subject to conditions that include mandatory drug testing and a ban on the consumption of alcohol.

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He was a fourth-term representative and a rising star of the Republican Party when Harrisburg police, acting on an anonymous tip, first questioned him in January 2000 about the death of Kenneth Cains six months earlier.

Mr. Cains, 42, an ex-Marine whose family said had a drinking problem, was drunk the night he was struck by Mr. Druce's sport utility vehicle while crossing a street near the Capitol in July 1999.

Mr. Druce pleaded guilty in September 2000 to leaving the scene of a fatal accident, tampering with evidence and insurance fraud. He was sentenced to two to four years in prison.

He admitted having his vehicle repaired before police could inspect it and lying to his insurance company about where the accident occurred. He maintained that he did not know he struck a person but rather believed he had hit a traffic sign.

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First Published: March 13, 2006, 5:00 a.m.

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