Man gets early parole in fatal Derry crash
A New Alexandria man convicted late last year of causing a fatal car crash in Derry that killed a 71-year-old woman will be paroled nearly five months early.
Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani on Monday ruled Samuel Grace III, 22, will be released from custody July 10 after serving seven months of a jail sentence that called for him to be behind bars for 111⁄2 to 23 months.
Grace pleaded guilty last year to vehicular homicide in connection with the October 2016 fatal crash that killed Harriet Malloy of Blairsville. Malloy’s infant granddaughter, a passenger in her car, was not injured in the crash.
Police said Grace was speeding, driving more than 70 mph on Route 982 near Laughlin Farm Road, when he lost control, veered into oncoming traffic and struck the car driven by Malloy. The speed limit on the road was only 40 mph, prosecutors contended.
Feliciani said Grace’s driving record, which included several prior citations for speeding, led to the jail sentence.
In lieu of the remaining jail time, the judge ordered Grace to serve 11 additional months of house arrest.
On Monday, the judge agreed to the early parole because Grace had no prior criminal record and was well-behaved in jail.
“I only hope that when July 10 comes and you do get out of jail, you will respect the rules of the road,” Feliciani said.
The judge said he will schedule a hearing to reconsider the early parole if Malloy’s family wants to object to the ruling.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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