Penn Township man sentenced to probation for role in fatal North Huntingdon crash

A Penn Township man will serve two years on probation for his role in a fatal crash last year on Route 30.

Chad Gregorini, 45, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment and two summary traffic citations in connection with the Jan. 21, 2020, crash that resulted in the death of 77-year-old Kenneth Youngerman of North Huntingdon.

Police said Gregorini was driving along Route 30 in North Huntingdon when he rear-ended an SUV, which was stopped in the road as the driver, Youngerman’s wife Hilda, attempted a left turn onto Edwin Drive. Kenneth Youngerman, a front-seat passenger, died from injuries he sustained in the crash. Hilda Youngerman was hospitalized and recovered.

Police said Gregorini was driving about 53 mph in a 40 mph zone when the crash occurred.

Westmoreland County prosecutors dismissed one felony count of vehicular homicide as part of the plea bargain.

“It was in his best interest,” defense attorney Lee Demosky said of the plea deal. “It was an accident, that’s all it was. There was no evidence of usage of a phone or that he was texting.”

During a court hearing earlier this month, Assistant District Attorney Allen Powanda said investigators concluded that Gregorini was distracted and did not take evasive action to avoid crashing into the rear of the Youngerman’s vehicle. But, a decision was made to dismiss the vehicular homicide count after consultation with Youngerman’s wife.

Demosky said a defense expert who reviewed the evidence concluded Gregorini’s actions before the crash were not criminal.

The Youngerman family signed off on the plea before it was formally approved by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio. Gregorini appeared in court earlier this month to accept the identical plea bargain but Powanda halted proceedings after he was told the Youngerman’s adult children had initially objected to the proposed deal.

Demosky said Wednesday that a private out-of-court settlement was reached between Gregorini and the Youngerman family. Details of that settlement were not made public.