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Man pleads guilty in chain reaction crash that killed bicyclist in Oakland

Man pleads guilty in chain reaction crash that killed bicyclist in Oakland

A Beltzhoover man pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in the death of a bicyclist in Oakland in 2015.

David Witherspoon, 50, will be sentenced before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David Cashman May 18 in connection with the death of Susan Hicks.

Ms. Hicks, 34, of Friendship, was an assistant director at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Russian and East European studies.

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Assistant district attorney William Petulla said Witherspoon was driving with a suspended license when he struck a car in Oakland on Oct. 23, 2015. The crash pushed the car that Mr. Witherspoon hit forward, pinning Ms. Hicks, who was on a bicycle, between two cars.

Mr. Petulla said a blood test showed that Mr. Witherspoon had synthetic cannabis in his system, and had the case gone to trial, a doctor would have testified that Mr. Witherspoon had an “altered mental status” and was “intoxicated.”

In addition to the involuntary manslaughter charge, Witherspoon also pleaded guilty to being involved in an accident involving death, drug violations and a summary driving violation.

First Published: February 21, 2017, 4:40 p.m.

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