Tarentum man gets probation for 145-mph Route 28 crash that killed best friend

A Tarentum man who claimed that a heart condition caused him to pass out and hit 145 mph before he crashed his sports car on Route 28, killing his passenger, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation.

Frederick Fattman, 79, could have been sentenced to incarceration, but Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Satler said that would be excessive.

Defense attorney Alexander Linsday Jr. said he was happy with the sentence.

“Mr. Fattman believes when he passed out his foot went on the gas,” Lindsay wrote in his sentencing memo.

Fattman pleaded no contest in January to involuntary manslaughter, speeding and reckless driving.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, Fattman was driving his 2015 Corvette south on Route 28 on July 5, 2021.

He had picked up his longtime best friend, Robert Walters, 68, of Fawn, to take him for a drive.

However, as he neared Exit 15 in Harrison, Fattman lost control of the car. He traveled onto the shoulder, hit an embankment and overturned.

Walters, a Harrison native, died at the scene. He lived his entire life in the area and was a retired vending machine service technician, according to his obituary.

Data from the car showed the vehicle hit 145 mph before the crash.

In an interview with police, Fattman said he had not planned to go that fast.

“I usually just open it up a little bit — maybe 60, 70, 80 at the most — and then take it right back down again,” he told them.

In his sentencing memo, Lindsay detailed the heart condition that affected Fattman and left him with no knowledge of how the crash happened.

“Mr. Fattman cannot tell you what happened that day because he blacked out from a heart blockage,” Lindsay said. “He simply blacked out and had this horrific accident.

“He’s devastated by this.”

While in the ICU after the crash, Fattman passed out again.

“Tests determined that Mr. Fattman was suffering from a complete heart block,” the filing said.

Lindsay also submitted a letter from his client’s cardiologist.

Dr. Venkatraman Srinivasan said medical records indicated that Fattman’s heart temporarily stopped working and he lost consciousness before the accident.

That medical evidence, Lindsay wrote, would line up with a statement from a witness to the crash who said she never saw brake lights before the car left the road.

Fattman has since had a pacemaker implanted and has had no additional episodes.

On Monday, Lindsay said he could not explain the prosecutor’s decision to pursue charges after learning about his client’s medical condition.

Fattman initially was charged with homicide by vehicle, a felony, but the District Attorney’s Office agreed to allow him to plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor.

The DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This was an incredibly traumatic experience in every way for Mr. Fattman. Not only did his best friend die, but he also was very seriously injured,” Lindsay said. “Essentially, he didn’t want to relive it.”

Several people submitted letters on Fattman’s behalf.

A longtime friend, Rhonda Schoedel, testified Monday that Fattman, who has no criminal history, is gentle, unassuming, careful, kind and considerate.

“He is a blessing to everyone who knows him,” she said.

The crash, she continued, has changed his personality.

“The old Fred used to get up and whistle a happy tune every day,” Schoedel wrote in a letter to the court. “The new Fred is a physically broken and mentally traumatized shell.”

Assistant District Attorney Cassandra Barch did not call any victim impact witnesses and did not object to probation.

“The commonwealth wants to remember the victim in this case is Robert Walters, not the defendant,” Barch said. “It’s important to remember Robert.”