A Saltsburg man will serve up to five years in prison for causing a fatal crash four years ago in Derry Township
Martin J. McKnight, 47, pleaded guilty this week to a felony charge of vehicular homicide for his role in a two-vehicle crash on Sept. 15, 2020.
Police said McKnight was driving a 2020 Dodge Ram pickup truck that failed to stop at a red light as he traveled south on state Route 981. McKnight’s pickup struck the driver’s side door of a Chevrolet Colorado pickup driven by Alan Lee Goldizen, 62, of Blairsville as it traveled eastward on state Route 22.
Goldizen was hospitalized for what police said at the time was believed to be minor injuries he sustained in the crash. He died a month later from complications that resulted from multiple blunt force injuries, police said.
According to court records, McKnight was accused of leaving the crash scene on foot. Police said a witness helped McKnight from his truck, smelled alcohol and watched as he appeared to enter a nearby Sheetz convenience store.
McKnight wasn’t found until the next day when police said he came forward and claimed he believed he lawfully crossed the intersection but did not remember additional details about the crash. He told police he awoke the next morning in his cousin’s garage with self-diagnosed injuries that investigators said were never verified.
As part of the plea deal approved Tuesday, prosecutors dismissed four additional charges including allegations he fled the crash scene and two summary traffic offenses.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani sentenced McKnight, who had been free on bail since his arrest in July 2022, to serve two to five years in prison and two additional years on probation.
