Driver pleads guilty to murder in crash that killed Serra Catholic student Samantha Kalkbrenner
In exchange for the guilty plea, William Soliday was sentenced to five and a half to 12 years in prison.
Soliday and Andrew Voigt were charged in connection with the deadly, fiery crash on Sept. 20, 2023.
Serra Catholic High School student Samantha Kalkbrenner was killed in a school van crash in Dravosburg on Sept. 20, 2023.
Serra Catholic High School
A school van carrying Kalkbrenner was making a left turn from Third Street onto Richland Avenue in Dravosburg when it was hit by a Volkswagen. A Jeep flew through the intersection right after, police said.
Witnesses told police that the drivers of the Volkswagen and Jeep were speeding and appeared to be racing as they crossed the Mansfield Bridge driving toward the intersection of Third Street and Richland Avenue.
A 15-year-old Serra Catholic student was killed when a school van and another vehicle crashed in Dravosburg on Sept. 20, 2023.
(Photo: KDKA)
Police identified the 43-year-old Soliday as the driver of the Volkswagen and Voigt as the driver of the Jeep. Both men, police said, worked at a business about a quarter mile from the crash scene.
Data from the Volkswagen showed Soliday was driving more than 100 miles per hour leading up to the crash.
A traffic light has since been installed at the intersection where Kalkbrenner was killed.
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