Residents in Pennsylvania who hear about fatal accidents in which drunk drivers ruthlessly and negligently claim the lives of innocent people have good reason to be angry and want to see justice done. Some of the time, however, that path to justice may not be as direct or fast as people would like. An example of this can be seen in a case that has actually made its way to the State Supreme Court.
The case goes back to a ruling roughly two-and-a-half years ago in October of 2015 when a woman was convicted of seven different charges in the drunk driving death of a pedestrian. The then 84-year-old man was said to be on the side of a road working on a fence when the intoxicated driver hit him. The man actually lived for two days after the crash prior to succumbing to his injuries. A judge in Berks County sentenced the woman to prison for a term lasting between four and 10 years.
However, now a ruling has been handed down by the state’s highest court that the sentence has been overturned on what some may deem a technicality. The issue is the the original judge issued one sentence to cover all of the charges rather than seven individual sentences for each charge. At this point it is unclear if a new set of sentences will be forthcoming or not.
Pennsylvania residents involved in accidents might want to talk with a lawyer to understand how to seek civil compensation while the criminal justice system handles criminal charges.
Source: PennLive.com, “Drunken driver who killed pedestrian, then caused another DUI crash, has jail term voided by Pa. court,” Matt Miller, May 11, 2018