A Pennsylvania man faced two options: plead guilty and spend up to 25 years in prison or let a jury decide and face up to 82 years in prison. The man initially chose to go through with the jury trial but just last week decided to plead guilty instead. Now he will be serving the prison sentence for a fatal car accident he caused last year.
The college students who were in the vehicle that the man hit likely had little time to react. They had been driving when the man slammed into them in an SUV, traveling over 100 miles per hour at the time of impact. The man had been trying to escape police capture.
The two students in the vehicle were both students at Villanova University. One young man was killed in the crash and the other spent several months in the hospital recovering from a serious brain injury.
Based on the injuries that the two students sustained it is clear that the collision was severe. In fact, the man hit the car so hard that it slipped several times, stopping only after crashing into a wall. The force of the impact was so great that it also knocked the car’s engine out.
In the wake of a car crash, there are a number of considerations for car accident victims. There are medical expenses and lost wages, not to mention the emotional trauma that can result from a crash. Serious injuries can impact a person’s future; for the young man who suffered a brain injury he may be unable to return to school or accomplish the plans he had prior to the accident.
Fatal car accidents are devastating and do not simply affect the victims of the crash. The parents of the young man who died are struggling with the loss of their loved one. Though the man who caused the accident will go to prison, it is of little comfort to the young man’s family.
Source: Philly.com, “Man gets 13-26 years for crash that killed Villanova student,” Mari A. Schaefer, 21 May 2011