McCandless man gets 2 to 4 years in deadly DUI crash

The grandmother of a woman killed by a drunk driver and the man convicted of killing her were both seeking the same thing in an Allegheny County courtroom Thursday.

Dorothy Guy, whose 19-year-old granddaughter, Egypt White, was killed two years ago, wanted mercy for the man responsible, Evan Hilliard, now 25.

“If Egypt were alive today, she would not want (Hilliard) to have a long sentence,” Guy wrote to the judge.

Hilliard also sought leniency.

“He’s here to accept responsibility,” said Hilliard’s defense attorney, Giuseppe Rosselli. “He’s never gone out and intentionally hurt someone.”

Despite the pleas from both sides, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Elliot Howsie was unmoved. He noted that Hilliard had four previous drug-related convictions.

“You didn’t learn from the first arrest. You didn’t learn from the second. You didn’t learn from the third,” Howsie said. “Each time, he got probation. Each time, he didn’t stop.

“I just wonder, if there had been a consequence for the prior four or five arrests, if we’d still be here?”

Howsie ordered Hilliard, who pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving, to serve two to four years in state prison, followed by one year of probation.

Even that sentence, Howsie said, was not enough.

“I just wish you still had a felony here, because I would have given you more time,” the judge said. “It could have been prevented.”

85 mph on impact

Police were called to the crash scene on the McKees Rocks Bridge in Stowe around 3:30 a.m. Nov. 7, 2020. Witness told investigators that Hilliard, of McCandless, had been driving a 2008 Mercedes westbound when he crashed head-on into White, who was driving a 2006 Cadillac.

White, of Penn Hills, died the next day.

Investigators at the scene said that they saw a prescription pill bottle sticking out of Hilliard’s center console, as well as what appeared to be a liquor bottle in a brown bag behind the right passenger seat.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said Hilliard’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was 0.139%, above Pennsylvania’s legal limit of 0.08%.

A license plate reading camera showed Hilliard at McKnight and Siebert roads in Ross at 3:23 a.m. The crash was reported eight minutes and 19 seconds later.

Investigators said those two locations are 10.5 miles apart. The complaint said Hilliard would have had to travel an average speed of 76 mph to cover that distance in that amount of time.

The investigation showed Hilliard was traveling 85 mph at the time of impact.

The complaint said Hilliard was uncooperative after the crash, refusing an IV or other medical care.

At the hospital, he also refused to submit to a blood draw or breathalyzer test. He refused to disclose where his cellphone was or talk with detectives any further, the complaint said.

Hilliard was driving on a suspended license.

‘I hope I can be forgiven’

During Thursday’s hearing, Rosselli told the court that Hilliard had a very small family — a sick grandmother, a brother away in the military and an aunt. The only person who had visited Hilliard in the year he has been in custody at Allegheny County Jail was his lawyer.

Rosselli also argued that his client’s prior criminal history was artificially inflating his advisory sentence. The convictions, Rosselli said, were primarily for marijuana.

The guidelines called for Hilliard to be incarcerated for 21 to 27 months, but Rosselli asked the judge to reduce those to 11-1/2 to 23 months.

At the time of the crash, Hilliard had joined a union apprenticeship program and was trying to improve his life.

“I tried to turn my life completely around,” Hilliard said. “I completely planned to change my whole life.

“I’m sorry to the family for the pain I’ve caused and the suffering,” he added. “I’m extremely remorseful, and I hope I can be forgiven.”

‘When should we expect more from you?’

Egypt White was a caring and giving person who served as a volunteer, her grandmother Guy wrote in her victim impact statement to the court.

She had a positive energy and believed that a person shouldn’t be penalized forever for a mistake they’ve made, Guy added.

Guy wrote that she didn’t want Hilliard’s life to be ruined by a lengthy prison term.

Because of those wishes, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the more serious felony count of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. They allowed Hilliard to plead to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a lighter penalty.

“We both understand accidents happen. He was not in his right state of mind,” she wrote.

Hilliard needs a mental health evaluation and treatment, Guy said.

“As much as I want Egypt back, I want this young man to receive help,” she wrote. “I have seen what jail has done to these young adults. Where does it stop? When do we address the trauma? When do they actually get help?”

Howsie asked similar questions, but his were meant to call out Hilliard’s past behavior.

“You’ve gotten too many breaks, and you’ve gotten a benefit by getting your charges reduced,” Howsie said.

Had he been convicted of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, Hilliard would have been facing five years in prison.

“When should we expect more from you?” Howsie asked the defendant. “You were selling drugs. You got a slap on the wrist every time. You always get a pass.

“I just don’t understand. When is enough going to be enough?”