Victim’s family mourns as driver sentenced in fatal McKeesport DUI crash

Brittney McPherson will spend at least three years in prison for killing Donna DeFrances.

By PAULA REED WARD
TribLive

At a plea hearing last week for the driver charged with killing Donna DeFrances in a McKeesport DUI crash, the victim was repeatedly referred to as “the deceased.”

When the driver was sentenced Tuesday, Becky De-Frances told the judge that hearing her mother-in-law referred to that way was heartbreaking.

“Donna had a name. Donna had a family. Donna had a life,” she told the judge. “She had so much more life to live. She should still be here. She was deeply loved. She was deeply needed.”

DeFrances, 69, of McKeesport was killed on Feb. 14 when the car she was traveling in was struck by a minivan driven by Brittney N. McPherson.

Police said McPherson had alcohol and marijuana in her system when she blew through a stop sign at the intersection of 24th and Rockwood streets that evening. Traveling at more than twice the posted 25 mph speed limit, McPherson crashed into a Honda Accord in which De-Frances was a passenger.

DeFrances was killed, and the Accord’s driver, Robert Longo, was injured.

McPherson, 34, of McKeesport pleaded guilty last week to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, as well as endangering the welfare of children, reckless driving and DUI. Her three kids, ages 5, 8 and 12 were in the car at the time of the crash.

On Tuesday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jaime Hickton ordered McPherson to serve three to six years in state prison followed by eight years probation as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution. Additionally, McPherson must pay more than $16,000 in restitution and $1,800 in fines.

“The immeasurable amount of reckless choices you made that day stole a beloved family member,” Hickton said. “It’s impossible to calculate the devastation your choices caused.”

During her victim-impact statement, Becky DeFrances told the court that her mother- in-law often stopped by their home to see her granddaughter, and that she was their primary support person.

“She gave us her time. She gave us her love,” she said. “This tragedy has shaken my faith in ways I never could have imagined.”

DeFrances then looked directly at McPherson, who sat at the defense table, with her head down and her leg shaking.

“Brittney, my hope for you is to learn from this. Stay clean and sober and better yourself,” she said. “Be a good mother to them moving forward. Donna’s life was all about loving, caring and supporting others.

“I hope in some way you can honor her life by helping others.”

Kathy Schnitzer, Donna DeFrances’s daughter, echoed that sentiment.

She told the court that she feels her mother’s absence every day.

“One reckless choice devastated multiple families in an instant,” Schnitzer said. “Brittney, I hope at the end of the day you become a better person and a better mother.

“My mother would want that for you, sweetheart.”

But not everyone who spoke on Tuesday was kind.

“I know you’ve got to live with this, Brittney,” said Longo, who is dating Schnitzer. “I hope it’s hell.”

When it was her turn to address the court, McPherson said: “There’s nothing I can do to make this OK, but I did take full accountability from day one.”

As she was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs to begin her sentence, McPherson told her family, “I love you.”