HUDSON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years for the 2021 murder of a Black man following a racist road rage encounter. Dean Kapsalis of Hudson was convicted by a jury last year of second-degree murder, violation of constitutional rights, and other offenses in the killing of Henry Tapia.

The tragic incident occurred on Jan. 19, 2021, when Kapsalis and Tapia got into an argument that escalated into a fatal confrontation. After the argument, Kapsalis shouted a racial slur at Tapia and then hit him with his pickup truck as he drove off. Tapia later died at a hospital from the injuries sustained in the incident.

During the sentencing, Judge David A. Deakin deemed the sentence proportional to the crime, considering Kapsalis’s history of violent behavior. The judge also addressed Tapia’s relatives, acknowledging that no sentence could ever bring their loved one back.

Prosecutors and District Attorney Marian Ryan condemned the murder as a senseless tragedy fueled by hate and anger. Ryan emphasized that the racial insult aimed at intimidating and threatening Tapia based on the color of his skin was intolerable.

Kapsalis, however, maintained that Tapia’s death was an accident throughout the trial. His sentencing was postponed due to an unsuccessful attempt to reduce his conviction to manslaughter.

The impact of the tragic loss was evident, as Tapia left behind a fiancée and children. The judge’s acknowledgment of the profound grief experienced by Tapia’s loved ones adds a layer of poignancy to the sentencing.