BRISTOL, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A 21-year-old Bensalem man will spend at least 2 ½ years behind bars after pleading no contest on Tuesday to charges stemming from a deadly hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2021.
Bristol Township police say Kevin Baker Jr. ran over 65-year-old John Dugan on State Road in Bristol, around 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2021.
Dugan was crossing the road with his fiancée on their way to a Christmas party. She told police Dugan fell in the road, and before she could help him up, he was run over by a pickup truck. The woman told police the truck briefly slowed down but didn’t stop.
Dugan was not in a marked crosswalk when he was hit. The police officer who investigated the crash told a grand jury that if the driver of the truck had stopped, that driver likely would not have been charged with a crime. The driver hadn’t been speeding, the area was dark and didn’t have a pedestrian crosswalk, and Dugan wore dark clothing that night.
Baker was charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 2 ½ to 5 years in prison after entering his plea.
By pleading no contest, Baker did not admit guilt but did concede he would likely be convicted if the case went to trial.