ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown man will serve at least five years in state prison for fatally striking a 77-year-old pedestrian while driving drunk three years ago.
Shaba Xavier Hill, 26, in a hearing Tuesday before Lehigh County Judge Thomas Caffrey, was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
In October, Hill pleaded guilty to a felony charge of homicide by vehicle while driving drunk and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of controlled substances-combination of alcohol and drugs.
Police said he fatally struck John C. Nick, 77, of Allentown, on Oct. 30, 2022, near Springhouse Road and Springwood Drive.
Officers who responded to the call found a Subaru Outlook idling at the curbside and the victim laying in the pedestrian crosswalk.
Nick died of multiple blunt force injuries, authorities said.
Police identified Hill as the driver of the Subaru. They said he had an odor of marijuana and his breath smelled of alcohol.
Blood test results showed the presence of methamphetamine and cannabinoids, and he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14% — above 0.10% limit that state law considers too drunk to drive, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.