‘Grossly negligent’ driver sentenced
A 33-year-old Beaver County man was sentenced Monday in Washington County for vehicular homicide in a 2014 accident in Hanover Township that killed a Bethel Park woman.
Judge John F. DiSalle sentenced William J. Lee of Georgetown to five years in the intermediate punishment program, with the first 364 days in the county jail.
Victoria Machak, who was with 50-year-old Kimberly Darges on the night of the accident and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, described the way the death of the mother of four has affected those who were close to her.
“I spent many days and nights struggling with why it wasn’t me instead of her,” Machak said.
Police said Darges was riding her motorcycle on Route 18 near McCutcheon Road when Lee’s vehicle struck her. Police were still on scene when they learned she died of her injuries at Weirton (W.Va.) Hospital.
Lee said, during the hearing, he never intended to run the stop sign that night. Instead, as he was driving, he removed his shoe to scratch his foot. He said he tried to stop at the intersection and unsuccessfully attempted to swerve into the yard of a nearby house to avoid the accident.
“To Kimberly’s children, if I could take the place of her, I definitely would,” said Lee, his voice cracking with emotion, during the hearing.
Cheryl Lee, William Lee’s mother, stressed her son’s willingness to help friends and family and said he’s changed since the accident.
William Lee’s attorney, Phil DiLucente, stressed the remorse his client has shown regarding his “grossly negligent” actions.
“Every single time this young man came to my office, he never left with a dry eye,” DiLucente said.
Lee has been in jail since April 21, when he arrived in court to enter a plea in the case and notified authorities he’d been arrested and convicted for driving under the influence in Hancock County, W.Va., in the weeks preceding that appearance. DiSalle revoked Lee’s release on his own recognizance.
On Monday, the judge ordered Lee to pay restitution to the victim’s family in an amount to be decided by the district attorney’s office.
He also ordered Lee to complete 200 hours of community service and issued a $250 fine for a charge of obedience to traffic-control devices, to which Lee also pleaded guilty. DiSalle gave him credit for time served in the jail.
Before handing down the sentence, DiSalle pointed to the DUI incident and portions of a presentencing report compiled by the county Adult Probation Office, saying he doubted whether Lee realized the seriousness of the accident.
He also noted Lee’s use of Suboxone for two years and questioned how actively Lee sought treatment for his substance abuse issues.
“I don’t see you acknowledging that you have a problem and taking responsibility for that,” DiSalle said.