1 week Ago By Mike Jones
A Chartiers Township woman whose vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic on Interstate 79 and crashed head-on into another motorist pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle just before her trial was set to begin this week. Rachel Ann Phillips pleaded guilty Monday to the one felony charge just before jury selection began for her trial at the Washington County Courthouse in the Aug. 23, 2023, crash that killed a New York man.
As part of the plea deal with prosecutors, Judge Valarie Costanzo sentenced Phillips, 36, to serve three months to one year in the Washington County jail, although she does not have to report until June 9. Phillips was driving north on I-79 between the Houston and Canonsburg exits in North Strabane Township when her SUV veered onto the right side shoulder of the highway and careened across the grassy median into southbound traffic. Phillips struck head-on a vehicle driven by 58-year-old Gary M.
Reinhardt of Lancaster, N.Y., killing him instantly before her SUV ricocheted into two other cars and ended up on its roof.
A witness testified at her preliminary hearing last year that Phillips was speeding before she lost control of her vehicle. State police filed charges and accused Phillips of being under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash. But her defense attorney, Peter Marcoline III, pointed to evidence that blood samples taken at the hospital were drawn after she was administered pain medication.
In addition, the smell of alcohol in her SUV after the crash came from hard iced tea cans she had been transporting in her vehicle that had been sheared open by the force of the crash, Marcoline said. “She’s maintaining her innocence that she was not under the influence of any substance on Aug. 23, 2023,” Marcoline said Monday following the plea.
“I think (the plea) gives closure to everybody.” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh agreed that the plea deal will allow both sides to move forward. “It was a negotiated plea,” Walsh said.
“The victim’s family was in favor of it. It was done with their approval.” Phillips has been free on unsecured bond ever since state police charged her last April.
She was also facing one felony count of homicide by vehicle while DUI, three misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and numerous summary offenses, all of which were withdrawn by prosecutors as part of the plea agreement..
