A Bethel Park man who was driving under the influence of marijuana when he struck and killed a man in a motorized wheelchair in Homestead pleaded guilty on Tuesday.
Eric Walker, 51, pleaded guilty to causing an accident involving death while not licensed, driving under the influence, careless driving and driving on a suspended license.
He will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Beth A. Lazzara on Feb. 15.
As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution withdrew counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI and related charges.
In exchange for the plea, Walker will be entered into the Mental Health Court program. A condition of that program will be that Walker not be permitted to drive, said Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky.
He obtained a driver’s license in 1995, but it has been suspended multiple times and never reinstated, Chernosky said.
According to investigators, Walker was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche about 10:30 a.m. on July 15, 2021, when he struck Anthony Donofrio, 72, at Seventh and West streets in Homestead.
Donofrio died at the scene.
