A driver who hit and killed a man in an Allentown crosswalk in 2022 while driving under the influence will serve up to 10 years in prison.
The sentencing comes after Shaba Xavier Hill, 26, of Allentown pleaded guilty in October to felony vehicular homicide while DUI and misdemeanor DUI of controlled substances.
Court records show other charges, including felony involuntary manslaughter, another felony vehicular homicide count and misdemeanor reckless endangerment, were withdrawn in the case.
Hill was sentenced Tuesday by Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas M. Caffrey to serve five to 10 years in prison.
The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing last week. Allentown-based attorney Vitaliano P. Bernardino III, representing Hill, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Monday.
The crash occurred about 5:47 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022, at Springhouse Road and Springwood Drive.
Prosecutors said Hill was driving an estimated 40 to 50 mph in a 35 mph zone when he struck 77-year-old John C. Nick. Hill had alcohol and evidence of methamphetamine and marijuana in his blood after the accident.
Investigators found Nick lying in the road — just north of the pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Springwood Drive — and Hill standing outside his blue Subaru Outback.
Hill smelled of alcohol and marijuana, police said. He consented to a blood test at the hospital, which showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.144 as well as the presence of methamphetamines and cannabinoids, court records said. Penalties begin for most drivers at a blood alcohol content of 0.08.
The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office later determined Nick died from multiple blunt force injuries due to the collision. Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio ruled the death accidental.
Nick was a father and grandfather who worked as a computer operator for ADP Payroll Services, according to his obituary. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.