Top Stories

Man sentenced for homicide of Pitt administrator

More than a year and a half after a fatal crash led to the death of Pitt faculty member Susan Hicks, the man who pleaded guilty to causing the crash received his jail sentence this Thursday.

David Witherspoon, 51, who plead guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and drug offenses when court proceedings began in April 2016, received a sentence of five to ten years in prison. Witherspoon caused a chain reaction car pile-up on Oct. 23, 2015, that trapped and partially crushed Hicks on a bicycle between two cars on Forbes Avenue, leading to her death.

Hicks, who was an administrator in the University’s Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, died at 34. In the wake of her death, students, family and friends came together to finance an academic scholarship in Hicks’s memory — the Susan M. Hicks Memorial Fund. Hicks’s death reignited the debate over cyclist safety and caused a stronger push for bicycle lanes among the reactions to the tragedy.

According to prosecutors, Witherspoon had traces of synthetic cannabis in his system at the time of the crash. His driver’s license had also been suspended prior to the crash. He will begin to serve his five- to 10-year sentence after completing a 15- to 30-month prison stint he is currently serving for theft.

opinionsdesk

Share
Published by
opinionsdesk

Recent Posts

Shamelessly Compiled | Something about being a regular

In this edition of Shamelessly Compiled, staff writer Belle O’Hara writes about her experiences being…

51 mins ago

Long Story Short | What is femininity in fashion?

Almost 20 years ago today, Carrie Bradshaw uttered the iconic words, “Men I may not…

53 mins ago

The Archives | Levi’s pioneered authentic Western wear, believe it or not

In this edition of The Archives, staff writer Hannah Beil provides the timeline of Levi…

55 mins ago

Mimesis | ‘Whiplash’: A Life in Art

Mimesis is a biweekly blog that discusses media through a philosophical and narrative lens.

57 mins ago

Pitt holding spring commencement April 28

The University of Pittsburgh is holding its spring commencement ceremony on April 28 at 1…

2 hours ago

Pitt Bradford student using virtual reality to research PTSD

A virtual reality program developed by Sofiya Synychych, a Pitt Bradford student, in collaboration with…

3 hours ago