Former York County resident pleads guilty in fatal crash in Springettsbury Township
A young woman has pleaded guilty in a fatal crash in Springettsbury Township last year that claimed the life of 81-year-old Delmar Sipes.
Eliza Miller, 21, of Jersey Shore, Pa., pleaded guilty this week in the York County Court of Common Pleas to homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of a controlled substance − impaired ability, and careless driving - unintentional death, according to court records. Other charges were dismissed.
Judge Harry M. Ness sentenced Miller to eight to 23 months in prison, three months of house arrest, and three years on probation. She is expected to report to York County Prison on Jan. 5, court records state.
Miller also is expected to perform 200 hours of community service with a focus on driver safety education for juveniles and young adults. She has a credit of 35 hours, court records state.
Her attorney, Thomas Lincoln Kearney IV, said she already has been speaking to students in local high schools about impairment and distracted driving. Her speeches have been in conjuction with a woman who lost a son to a drunk driver years ago.
Miller is hopeful that it can be effective in preventing similar instances from happening in the future, Kearney said.
She also spoke to the Sipes' family at sentencing, sharing her remorse and saying that she prays for them, he said.
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Sipes of the 1700 block of Pelham Drive in Springettsbury Township died at WellSpan York Hospital 25 days after the nearly head-on crash. He was a U.S. Army veteran, a bank retiree, and an avid bowler, according to his obituary.
An autopsy showed that he died from "complications of blunt force trauma," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The two-vehicle crash happened around 12:55 p.m. Aug. 17, 2022 in the 2600 block of North Sherman Street, the affidavit states. Miller, who lived in the Mount Wolf area at the time, was driving northbound when her car crossed over the double yellow line and struck Sipes' vehicle. Emergency responders had to extricate Sipes from the wreck.
At the crash scene, Miller allegedly told an officer that she had smoked marijuana that day, the affidavit states. She informed police that she had "weed" and a "bong" in her car, and she has a Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Card.
Officers seized items from the vehicle, including a plastic bag of suspected marijuana. It was not in a dispensary container, and she told them that she got it from someone else, police allege.
Miller was arrested in connection with DUI and taken to the hospital to have her blood drawn, the affidavit states. The results showed she had used marijuana.
During an interview, police allege, she told an officer that she looked down at her phone to either switch a song or to see her GPS, the affidavit states.
"The next thing Miller remembered was she was involved in a crash," the affidavit states.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Driver pleads guilty in fatal crash in Springettsbury Township, Pa.
