By MELODY MCDONALD
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for hitting a veteran Fort Worth firefighter with his car more than two years ago and then fleeing the scene.
Zaid Shakir, who also goes by Kenneth Washington, made a deal with prosecutors on Tuesday just as jury selection began in his trial. He pleaded guilty to failure to stop and render aid in exchange for the sentence.
“We had started picking a jury, and we took a break to discuss a legal matter and decided to go ahead and plead the case,” said prosecutor Bruce Fyfe, who handled the case with Robert Huseman.
Defense attorney John Harding, who worked with Paul Dickson, said the agreement was a fair resolution to the case.
“Both sides, as time passed, came to the understanding that this was a tragic, very unfortunate accident,” Harding said. “Thankfully, fireman Becerra was apparently not permanently injured. We were able to reach a plea bargain agreement in which justice was served on both sides.”
Firefighter Frank Becerra Jr., who suffered fractures to his face, left ankle and pelvis, said he is satisfied with the outcome.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” he said. “I’m finally getting some closure with this.”
Shakir struck Becerra with his car Feb. 13, 2003, as the firefighter placed flares near a traffic accident on U.S. 287. Becerra was knocked several feet in the air, landing on his head and face.
Officials said Shakir fled and abandoned his car in a nearby park.
He was arrested the same day after a police officer stopped a vehicle and realized that the occupant matched the description of the hit-and-run driver.
In April 2004, Shakir went to trial, but state District Judge George Gallagher declared a mistrial on the second day of testimony after two officers brought up extraneous information about Shakir.
Shakir was to be retried this week when the deal was worked out.
At the time of the offense, Shakir was on parole out of Virginia, where he served time for malicious wounding in connection with a shooting. After he serves his time in Texas, he will face revocation of his parole in Virginia for committing a crime here.
“He’ll have to face the music in Virginia,” Fyfe said.
Becerra, who has made a full recovery and returned to work last year, said he hopes the case serves as a reminder to motorists to be cautious when they see emergency workers.
“Slow down a little bit,” Becerra said. “We’re just trying to do our job.”