25-51 YEARS IN JAIL FOR DEADLY 6TH DUI
HE DROVE TRUCK THAT SLAMMED HEAD-ON INTO HER CAR, KILLING HER
In this file photo, David Strowhouer, of Willistown, is led into court for his preliminary hearing. Thursday he was sentenced for killing a woman in a fatal DUI crash.
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A six-time DUI offender who killed 45-year-old Deana Eckman in a head-on crash in February was sentenced to 25 and a half to 50 years in prison Thursday during an emotionally charged hearing before Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mary Alice Brennan.
David Strowhouer, 31, of the 2400 block of Woodside Lane in Newtown Square section of Willistown Township, pleaded guilty in August to murder in the third degree, two counts of aggravated assault, accidents involving death or injury, DUI and driving with a suspended license for the Feb. 16 crash on Route 452 in Upper Chichester.
Judge Brennan ran three of those charges consecutively – the aggravated assault against Eckman’s husband, Chris, who was also injured in the crash, the murder charge and the DUI charge. The rest were run concurrently.
The sentence imposed Thursday was higher than the 21.5 to 51 years sought by Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan McDevitt and more than twice the minimum 10 years suggested by defense counsel Brian Malloy.
Family members described Deana Eckman Thursday as a loving, sweet, funny and thoughtful woman who should have had many more years ahead of her. They said her absence is a space that can never be filled, a hole torn in the fabric of all future family functions that will never be mended.
“It’s like having your heart and lungs ripped out of your body so violently, leaving a hole in your chest that will never heal and seeps pain, tears, anger and hate,” said her mother, Roseann DeRosa. “My heart and soul died along with my daughter on that dreadful night.”
“She was the centerpiece to our family,” said Deana’s sister, Janine Guarini. “She was always craving attention, always making us laugh, always there for you, no matter what. She made an effort for everyone.”
Sister-in-law Emma Eckman described Deana’s death as “a tidal wave grief” that keeps slamming into the family again and again. Her cousin, Jenna Thiel, said she has gone through a whirlwind of emotions ranging from anger, sadness, confusion, anxiety and denial over the past nine months as she struggled to make sense of the loss.
“When you lose someone you love, you don’t just lose them – you lose yourself,” said Guarini. “You lose the life that once was and you mourn the future that you don’t have with them anymore.”
“I just hope that in this case the court will finally do what should have been done many times before and get him off the road – and for a long time, so this doesn’t happen to someone else’s family,” said Chris Eckman.
Brennan indicated the sentence would not start tolling until after Strowhouer completed a parole violation on one of five prior DUIs. McDevitt said any time there is back time associated with a violation, that time is served first before any additional state time begins. A call to the state Board of Probation and Parole to determine the range of back time Strowhouer might be facing was not immediately returned Thursday.
The crash occurred about
9:30 p.m. Feb. 16, when Strowhouer crossed a double yellow line in a Ram
2500 pickup truck and slammed head-on into the
2019 Subaru WRX Chris and Deana Eckman were driving. Authorities said Strowhouer’s blood-alcohol level was 0.199 at the time and he had traces of cocaine, diazepam and marijuana in his system.
Online court records indicate Strowhouer had five prior DUIs on his record since 2010 and was on probation for a previous offense at the time of the crash.
Strowhouer pleaded guilty to his third and fourth DUIs at the same time in Chester County court on Oct. 2, 2017, and was given a total sentence of 18 to 36 months in state prison. Later that same month, he pleaded to a fifth DUI before Brennan in Delaware County for DUI: controlled substance – combination alcohol/drug as a third offense. The sentence in the Delaware County case was allowed to run concurrent to the Chester County sentence.
Relatives of Deana Eckman have been critical of the way his prior DUI convictions were handled by the courts and her mother, Roseanne DeRosa, said Thursday that the criminal justice system had failed her family “miserably.”
“Tragically, Deana paid the ultimate price,” she said. “Hopefully this time justice will prevail for Deana’s sake.”
Deana and Chris Eckman were returning from a family gathering on the night of her death and were almost home when the crash occurred.
Strowhouer was heading southbound on Route 452 and tailgating a white minivan driven by Larry Weathers after crossing through the intersection with Meeting House Road. Weathers, who remained on the scene following the crash, previously said he felt the truck was trying to run him off the road and at one point he thought that he was going to die.
At the same time, Chris and Deana Eckman were heading northbound on Route 452, approaching a railroad bridge over the crest of a hill. As the minivan reached the bridge heading southbound, Strowhouer applied 100% pressure to the accelerator pedal, getting up to speeds of 78 miles per hour, and crossed the double-yellow lines to enter oncoming traffic as he attempted to pass Weathers.
The Ram was traveling at 69 miles per hour when it collided head-on with the Subaru, according to McDevitt. Deana Eckman was killed instantly from blunt force trauma, and her husband suffered a broken pelvis.
Strowhouer initially fled the scene, but later approached Patrolman Matthew McCusker, who was conducting a search of the area, and said he had been a passenger in the truck and was wearing his seatbelt.
Strowhouer, smelling of alcohol, told investigators at first that his cousin was the driver, but further investigation revealed that cousin was actually in Puerto Rico at the time. McDevitt also noted the truck’s passengerside seatbelt was retracted and locked in position, indicating it was not in use at the time of the crash.
Prior testimony and court records indicated Strowhouer was attending his mother’s funeral that day. Video from a security camera mounted outside his home was previously shown at the plea hearing and painted a picture of his intoxication.
One video taken at 8:51 p.m. showed Strowhouer falling down the outside steps before staggering toward the truck and getting into the driver’s side door. His brother, William Strowhouer III, is seen getting into the passenger side, followed by sister-in-law Margaret running up to the truck and then returning to the house.
The truck, facing away from the camera across the street, appears to be running with its taillights on in the video. After William Strowhouer exits and heads back to the house, the truck quickly reverses, nearly striking him and a car parked in the driveway before driving off.
William Strowhouer III testified at a preliminary hearing in March that he did not see his brother drinking alcohol that day, but said alcohol had been available. He said the two brothers sat in the truck with the engine running and had “a brotherly talk” about not spending enough time together. William Strowhouer III said he exited the truck but David, who was in the driver’s seat, assured him that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Margaret Strowhouer also previously testified that she was outside when she saw David put the truck in reverse. She yelled to her husband to get out of the way as her brother-in-law sped off at about 9 p.m.
William and Margaret Strowhouer testified they repeatedly called and texted David, who was driving with a suspended li
cense due to his multiple prior DUIs.
“We begged him to come back … and he laughed it off,” testified Margaret. “We begged him to stop what he was doing.”
“The big question everyone has is why was the defendant behind the wheel on Feb. 16 of 2019,” said McDevitt. “He has no regard for the law, he should not have been behind the wheel – people begged him to not get behind the wheel. He disregarded the law, he disregarded his family and he caused this tragedy which has everyone before the court today.”
“At age 30, he had committed five DUIs and despite repeatedly going to jail, receiving education and counseling, he consistently emerged only to reoffend,” said District Attorney Katayoun Copeland in a release. “While we are satisfied with this sentence, it will not bring back the victim or undo the emotional trauma this act of violence has caused to her family and the surrounding community. But as the result of excellent team work, with assistance from the community, the defendant will now face the consequences of his actions in a manner befitting the disastrous and heart wrenching nature of his crime.”
McDevitt said he had received more victim impact statements associated with Deana Eckman’s death than at any other time in his career as a prosecutor. Her death also prompted state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9, of Middletown, to introduce “Deana’s Law,” which would impose harsher penalties for multiple high-level DUI offenders.
Malloy described his client as “extremely remorseful” for Deana’s death and said Strowhouer expressed a wish that he could trade places with her. While he said Strowhouer knows he can’t make it right, he said he had taken responsibility by pleading guilty at the earliest court date possible and has committed to seeking help for his drug and alcohol addiction while in prison.
Jennifer Urban, who had lived with Strowhouer for four years before his arrest, said he had been making strides to control his addiction after getting out of prison on his fifth DUI, but his mother’s death undid that work. She said he is not a violent person and would not purposely harm anyone.
McDevitt contested several points made by Urban and Malloy, however, noting Strowhouer initially lied to police, framing his own cousin, and only entered a plea after making the victim’s family go through a contested preliminary hearing that showed the weight of the evidence against him.
McDevitt also noted Strowhouer and Urban had previously gotten into a physical altercation, after which he left their apartment and was arrested on his fourth DUI, though Urban attributed that to his addiction. A simple assault charge was later reduced to harassment.
Strowhouer also apologized to the family Thursday, saying his unwillingness to accept the fate of his own family’s tragedy forever altered the fate of the Eckman family. He added that he hoped his sentence would give them some measure of closure.
“Although there are no words, and it isn’t forgiveness that I seek – for I can never forgive myself – I apologize for your loss, a loss that can never be replaced,” he said.
Strowhouer is not eligible for early release. In addition to prison time, he must submit a DNA sample to state police, pay nearly $4,000 in funeral expenses, and pay more than $4,700 in various fees and restitution.