State College man charged in fatal Penns Valley crash pleads guilty
A State College man charged in a deadly April 2020 crash in Penns Valley pleaded guilty Wednesday and is set to spend a minimum of nearly a year in jail.
Christopher Hort, 54, pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony count of accidents involving death or personal injury. He was facing a second-degree felony of the same charge, which would have carried at least three years in state prison.
The plea agreement requires Hort to spend at least 363 days in jail, Centre County Deputy District Attorney Sean McGraw told county Judge Brian Marshall. Hort’s maximum sentence could reach four years.
Hort was charged in the death of John David King, a 23-year-old Amish man from Spring Mills who worked as a roofer.
Hort, who is the son-in-law of late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, was driving a 2012 Honda Pilot after dusk when he hit King along state Route 45 in Penn Township.
King was riding a scooter along the roadside, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. He was wearing an orange reflective vest and a headlamp.
Hort continued toward his State College home without stopping. He told investigators he thought he hit a deer and feared one of his tires would deflate.
His SUV was heavily damaged in the crash, police wrote. The damage included a broken windshield and buckled hood. He was not accused of speeding or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Hort has remained free since the crash. His bail was set at $50,000 unsecured. He was scheduled to stand trial in April, and jury selection was scheduled for Friday.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced July 5.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 4:02 PM.