CHRISTIANSBURG -- A former Virginia Tech student on Monday made an Alford plea to an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from the 2005 death of another student run over by a car.

Aaron Pierce, 21, of Roanoke entered the plea in Montgomery County Circuit Court because he said he did not want to risk a trial and because he wanted both his family and that of the victim, 18-year-old Brian McCloskey, to be able to get past the tragedy without going through a trial.

An Alford plea means a defendant does not admit guilt, but recognizes that there is sufficient evidence to convict. Pierce is due back in court June 25, following completion of a pre-sentence report. He will continue to be free on bond until then. The judge also withheld making a finding of guilt or innocence until then.

No plea agreement was negotiated. Circuit Judge Bobby Turk said he was not saying he would do this, but asked if Pierce understood that the judge could impose the maximum 10-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter. "Yes, sir," Pierce replied.

Aaron Pierce

When the judge asked if Pierce was pleading guilty because he was in fact guilty, Pierce replied, "No, sir. I am pleading guilty under North Carolina versus Alford because I do not want to risk a trial" and because he wanted to try to bring closure to his and McCloskey's families.

Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch said the evidence in a trial would have shown that McCloskey and Pierce were attending separate parties on the night of Nov. 4, 2005. McCloskey appeared intoxicated when he left his party about midnight. Pierce had been shuttling students to and from nearby parties in a Ford Excursion borrowed from his roommate.

The roommate was Cameron Johnson, general sales manager at and son of the owner of Magic City Ford in Roanoke. The vehicle had been taken from the dealership.

Pierce made three trips, Finch said, including a shortcut across a grassy area where two people on a walking trail discovered McCloskey on Nov. 5. McCloskey died Nov. 10 in a Roanoke hospital.

Finch said Pierce recalled driving over what he thought was a large rock. "After hearing about the incident, he became worried that he may have run over Brian but he was in no way sure of that," Finch said.

Brian McCloskey

It was uncertain at first whether McCloskey's injuries were from an attack or a car. But an autopsy confirmed that he had been run over.

When authorities interviewed Pierce on Dec. 9, 2005, Pierce told of making the three drives and said he thought he had driven over a large rock at one point. He mapped his route for police, and it included the grassy area where McCloskey was found.

"The police do not believe that the defendant knew or even suspected that he had struck someone," Finch said.

But an examination of the car showed a bolt pattern consistent with the pattern on McCloskey's back, and unique to Ford Explorers, Finch said.

He described Pierce as having been "very cooperative" with police and "extremely remorseful" over the death.

Members of Pierce's family attending the trial told the defendant afterward that they were proud of him.

Defense attorney Tony Anderson had told the court a few minutes earlier that the tragedy "linked two families together for not very good reasons, but probably for the remainder of their lives."