Pittsburgh, PA : 18-year-old woman killed in crash on Thursday August 6th 2015

A man was sentenced to prison Thursday for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed an 18-year-old woman on Route 28.The victim, Rikki Fleming, died at the scene in February 2013 when her car was rammed at high speed by Jared Schillinger's vehicle, which was weaving back and forth between lanes. Fleming's parents took no comfort in apologies from the convicted drunk driver who killed her.

"There's nothing that he could ever say or do, or (his) family, to ever change my mind," said Billie Jo smith, the victim's mother.

Schillinger, 30, of Indiana Township, will spend four to eight years in prison for homicide by vehicle while driving with his blood alcohol nearly triple the legal DUI limit. Testimony indicated his car was traveling up to 85 miles an hour on impact.

Schillinger apologized to Fleming's family in court and pleaded with them to find forgiveness for him. He said that he has been living with guilt and shame, and is sorry from the bottom of his heart.

"He took my daughter's life at 18 years old because he chose to drink and drive after he drank all day," said Smith.

"All along he had a prior DUI a year before the death of my daughter. I feel no remorse for that young man," said Steve Fleming, the victim's fatherSchillinger's defense attorney, Michael Moser, noted his client expressed his remorse before he was sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Tom Flaherty.

"His message was simple: I accept responsibility for my actions,I'm very sorry, and I'll be sorry forever," Moser said. "He fully accepts responsibility for what happened and he knew this date was coming."

The victim's mother held up a photo of her daughter to Schillinger as he faced the parents to apologize.

"I didn't want to look at him. I just put the picture up for him to look at the picture. Not me. It's Rikki. This is about Rikki. He was drunk. He chose to drive. He killed her," Smith said. "I thought he needed to tell her, not me. He's the one that took her life."

"He got what he deserves. He should have got more. Our family's been through a terrible, horrific ordeal and is still going through it," Steve Fleming said.

Family and friends say Rikki Fleming was a Shaler High School graduate who was just starting college and who volunteered, helping care for elderly nuns.

Nearly a dozen friends and relatives of Fleming gave victim impact statements to the judge before he imposed the sentence. About a half-dozen people spoke on the defendant's behalf.

With Schillinger's criminal trial over, Fleming's parent's are suing not only the drunk driver but those who sold his drinks.

"There (were) four bars that (Schillinger) went to that day. So someone else has to be held accountable for serving him. He was clearly intoxicated throughout the day. So this isn't over," said Chris Hildebrandt, the attorney for the victim's family.

Four witnesses in Schillinger's non-jury trial testified that they saw him speeding and weaving in and out of traffic on Route 28 in Sharpsburg. They all worried he would cause a crash.

Moments later, those witnesses saw the crash scene. The impact was so powerful that Fleming was thrown from her car. Her leg was severed and she died instantly.

Flaherty ruled that the evidence showed Schillinger's blood alcohol content was 0.231 percent -- nearly three times higher than the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent -- and that Schillinger was driving 70 to 85 mph when he hit Fleming's car from behind.

Flaherty found Schillinger guilty in May. The defendant faced a mandatory minimum sentence of three to six years. Flaherty said Schillinger's previous DUI conviction two years earlier was an aggravating factor in determining the four to eight year sentenced he imposed Thursday.

High school friends who attended the trial said they hope the trial encourages others to stop drinking and driving.


Source:
Driver in Route 28 DUI crash that killed woman, 18, gets prison time