Man sentenced for fatal 2016 crash

Driver receives nine to 18 months

A Pittsburgh man found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for killing another motorist while speeding will spend nine to 18 months in the Allegheny County Jail.

Kevin A. Paul, 31, of Stanton Heights was sentenced Monday following a jury trial in July.

The jurors found him not guilty of the more serious count of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Police said that Mr. Paul was speeding on Route 30 in McKeesport shortly after 3 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2016, when he crashed into another car, killing Olin Simpson, 44, of McKeesport.

East Pittsburgh police were called to the Westinghouse Bridge early that morning for a two-vehicle crash. They found Mr. Simpson inside a badly damaged 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII. The other vehicle, a 2013 Dodge Ram, was empty.

Mr. Simpson died at the scene.

An East Pittsburgh police officer spotted Mr. Paul and a woman walking away from the crash scene, according to a criminal complaint. Police said he smelled of alcohol and his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy.”

Police wrote that they suspected Mr. Paul’s truck was speeding in a westbound lane when it hit a guardrail and then went into the eastbound lanes, colliding head-on with Mr. Simpson’s car.

Olin McIntosh, the victim’s father, asked the judge to sentence the defendant to the maximum penalty allowed.

“I have grieved every day since the beginning of the trial,” he said. “Our family will never have the joy of being together as one.”

He and Mr. Simpson’s brother, Eric Watson, who also spoke, lamented that Mr. Paul never showed any remorse.

“I’ve seen no sympathy,” Mr. Watson said.

But Mr. Paul, when he addressed the court, did show remorse.

“From the bottom of my heart, I’m sincerely sorry for the loss I’m responsible for,” he said.

Mr. Paul said that he was told by his attorney not to contact Mr. Simpson’s family.

“I don’t want you to mistake that for a lack of concern,” he said.

“I take what I’ve done very seriously.”

Mr. Paul paused as he tried to compose himself.

“It’s a crushing weight every day of my life,” he said. “And there’s just no changing that.”

His defense attorney, Paul Boas, asked the court to allow his client to be released on time served — he has been in jail about 4½ months on the charges.

He described him as a good family man who was self-medicating for depression and bipolar disorder. He works as a journeyman union carpenter.

Further, the attorney noted that the jury did not believe the crash was caused by his client driving under the influence — his blood-alcohol content was between 0.08 — the legal limit for intoxication while driving — and 0.1.

Instead, he said they found that the crash was caused by speeding.

“For the rest of my client’s days, he will think every day what he did,” Mr. Boas said.