‘This was a tragedy.’ Man sentenced to jail time for deadly 2020 crash in downtown Bellefonte
A Howard man who caused a fatal 2020 crash in downtown Bellefonte couldn’t avoid jail time Tuesday.
Brandon Deitz, 37, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Brian Marshall to at least 90 days in the county jail. His maximum sentence is one year. He’s scheduled to report Feb. 15.
Deitz was also sentenced to two years of probation and was ordered to pay more than $3,000 in restitution.
“Obviously, judge, this was a tragedy,” county Assistant District Attorney Andrew Stover told Marshall before the sentence was handed down. “An individual lost their life. Nothing we do here today will be able to bring her back.”
Deitz hit Stephanie Wilson, 36, with his 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck during a morning rush hour in July 2020. Wilson was crossing West High Street near the intersection with North Allegheny Street.
Deitz was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was not accused of driving recklessly. A state police investigator estimated Deitz was driving about 22 mph — within the speed limit — when he hit Wilson.
He stopped almost immediately, but fled before calling for help because he was “scared and nervous,” state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. A woman called police on his behalf less than 10 minutes after the crash.
Several bandannas tied around his rearview mirror partially obstructed his view, police wrote. Deitz pleaded guilty in December to one misdemeanor count of an accident involving death. A felony charge was dropped.
“When he was making that turn, the bandanna hanging from the rearview mirror, as well as the height of his truck and the height of Ms. Wilson was essentially a disaster. He turned down and he did not see her,” county First Assistant Public Defender Lora Rupert said during the hearing. “He essentially panicked. ... And unless you’re in that situation, you obviously think you’re going to do the right thing and stay and help, but his mistake that day was not staying with her.”
It was the first fatal crash in the borough since 2009, and the fourth in the past two decades, according to state Department of Transportation data.
Wilson died 32 days after she married Thomas Wilson. Her death was an “immeasurable” loss, attorney Alvin de Levie wrote in a court document that settled a lawsuit brought against Deitz.
The lawsuit was settled in October for $175,000.
“My best friend, girlfriend and my wife was run down when she was trying to cross the street,” Thomas Wilson said in a statement read by Stover. “My Steph was my life, but that was all taken away when she was killed.”
Deitz offered a tearful apology, just yards from where he hit Wilson.
“I just want to say that I’m very sorry for what had happened,” Deitz said. “If I could take it back, it would be me instead of her.”
A second woman was treated for minor injuries in February 2021 after she was hit by a driver at the same intersection. The crashes prompted borough decision-makers to take a closer look at the busy intersection.
Discussion among Borough Council members about potential redesign options is ongoing, borough Manager Ralph Stewart said Monday.
Borough Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 7.
“I also will acknowledge as a person who has to navigate this intersection immediately across from the courthouse on a daily basis that it’s never easy, and particularly difficult when there’s traffic,” Marshall said. “... The intersection is very much a relic from the days of horse-and-buggy. I’m not a scholar of Bellefonte Borough history, but I know that it’s been configured that way for a long, long time as you look at historical photographs. It’s been that way for a long time. It’s difficult to navigate.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 11:29 AM.