2nd driver sentenced for part in crash that killed Serra Catholic student Samantha Kalkbrenner
2023. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER KALEA GUNDERSON IS JOINING US NOW LIVE OUTSIDE THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY COURTHOUSE. KELLY, WE KNOW YOU GOT THE DETAILS OF THAT PLEA. RIGHT? KELLY. ANDREW WILLIAM SOLIDAY SENTENCED TO A MINIMUM OF FIVE AND A HALF YEARS, A MAXIMUM OF 12 YEARS, AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEVERAL CHARGES, INCLUDING THIRD DEGREE MURDER. AND AS YOU SAID, HE WAS THE MAN WHO WAS IN THAT CAR THAT CRASHED INTO THE VAN THAT WAS CARRYING SAMANTHA KALKBRENNER, THREE OF HER FELLOW STUDENTS, AND THE VAN DRIVER. NO JUSTICE IS EVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH, BECAUSE IT WON’T EVER UNDO WHAT HAPPENED. BUT AT LEAST JUSTICE WAS SERVED. SO WE’RE HAPPY WITH THAT. WE’RE HAPPY THAT WE STILL HAVE OUR SUPPORT NETWORK BEHIND US, AND THEY’LL ALWAYS BE THERE. AND SO NOW EVERYBODY, IF YOU KNEW HER WELL, YOU LOVED HER. BUT ALL WE ASK NOW IS THAT IF YOU KNEW HER, CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE HER LIFE BECAUSE SHE’S STILL HERE. THAT WAS SAMANTHA’S FATHER, CARL KALKBRENNER. HE AND HIS WIFE ANITA, BOTH SPEAKING BEFORE THE JUDGE TODAY, READING THEIR EMOTIONAL WITNESS STATEMENTS. SURROUNDED BY MANY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, ALL WEARING MATCHING JUSTICE FOR SAM T-SHIRTS, SAMANTHA’S PARENTS PROCEEDED BY THEIR DAUGHTER’S BOYFRIEND, SEVERAL CLOSE FRIENDS AND A STUDENT WHO WAS IN THE VAN WITH SAMANTHA THAT DAY, ALL SHARING THEIR PERSONAL STORIES OF THE TRAUMA INFLICTED BY THIS CRASH AND THE LOSS OF SAMANTHA. THE JUDGE ALSO HEARD FROM FAMILY AND PASTOR. HIS PASTOR SAID SOLID PRAISE FOR SAMANTHA AND HER FAMILY EVERY DAY. SOLID, HIS WIFE SAYING HE TOLD HER HE WISHED HE COULD HAVE TRADED PLACES WITH SAMANTHA AND THAT HE IS NOT A MONSTER. THIS GUILTY PLEA COMES A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER THAT CRASH, AND INVESTIGATORS SAY SOLLIDAY WAS DRIVING MORE THAN 100MPH JUST BEFORE IMPACT. I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, REASONABLENESS PREVAILED. UNDERSTANDING THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, JUSTICE WAS SERVED FOR WILLIAM SOLLIDAY AS WELL AS SAMANTHA KOHBERGER, BASED ON, YOU KNOW. THE ACTIONS OF WHAT OCCURRED THAT DAY. THE OTHER SUSPECT IN THIS CASE, ANDREW VOIGHT, IS ALSO FACING SEVERAL MISDEMEANOR CHARGES. INVESTIGATORS SAY HE WAS DRIVING ALONGSIDE SOLLIDAY AT THAT HIGH RATE OF SPEED AND PASSED THROUGH THE SCENE OF THE CRASH JUST AS IT HAPPENED LATER TURNING HIMSELF IN TO POLICE. WE’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON HOW THAT PLAYS OUT AS WELL. REPORT
2nd driver sentenced for part in crash that killed Serra Catholic student Samantha Kalkbrenner
Updated: 1:49 PM EDT Aug 19, 2025
A man who officials say was racing another driver across a bridge that led to a deadly school van crash in Dravosburg nearly two years ago was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 4.5 years in prison. PREVIOUS VIDEO ABOVE: Driver, William Soliday, pleads guilty in Dravosburg crash that killed 15-year-old Samantha KalkbrennerIn a release from the District Attorney Zappala, Andrew Voigt will serve 16 to 54 months in prison for his role in the fatal crash that killed 15-year-old Serra Catholic High School student, Samantha Kalkbrenner. The crash happened around 7:25 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2023, near the intersection of Richland Avenue and 3rd Street in Dravosburg. Kalkbrenner, 15, was declared dead at the scene.Three other students and the van driver were also hospitalized as a result of the incident.Voigt and another man, William Soliday, were charged months after the crash. Police said the two men were racing one another at the time of the incident. Voigt was found guilty during a nonjury trial in May of this year on multiple charges, including reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. Soliday pleaded guilty in April 2025 to third-degree murder for hitting the school van. He was sentenced to serve five to 12 years in prison. Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
DRAVOSBURG, Pa. —
A man who officials say was racing another driver across a bridge that led to a deadly school van crash in Dravosburg nearly two years ago was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 4.5 years in prison.
PREVIOUS VIDEO ABOVE: Driver, William Soliday, pleads guilty in Dravosburg crash that killed 15-year-old Samantha Kalkbrenner
In a release from the District Attorney Zappala, Andrew Voigt will serve 16 to 54 months in prison for his role in the fatal crash that killed 15-year-old Serra Catholic High School student, Samantha Kalkbrenner.
The crash happened around 7:25 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2023, near the intersection of Richland Avenue and 3rd Street in Dravosburg. Kalkbrenner, 15, was declared dead at the scene.
Three other students and the van driver were also hospitalized as a result of the incident.
Voigt and another man, William Soliday, were charged months after the crash. Police said the two men were racing one another at the time of the incident.
Voigt was found guilty during a nonjury trial in May of this year on multiple charges, including reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person.
Soliday pleaded guilty in April 2025 to third-degree murder for hitting the school van. He was sentenced to serve five to 12 years in prison.
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