BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — A family packed a Butler County courtroom on Thursday for a bail hearing of a man accused of hitting and killing a teenager in 2023.
Joshua Rivera, 39, was reportedly driving on a suspended license in October of 2023 when he hit and killed Aiden Lutz, 15, then took off. He was also awaiting trial for a DUI.
>>Teen who was injured in hit-and-run crash while riding e-bike in Butler Township dies
On Thursday, Aiden’s friends and family packed the courtroom for Rivera’s bail hearing. It was standing room only, with almost everyone wearing yellow shirts and holding a yellow flower.
Rivera has been in jail for 558 days. At the hearing, lawyers argued for three hours about whether there was a Rule 600 violation, which means past 180 days in jail, not including certain dates that are allowed to be excluded.
The judge, who was brought in from Mercer County, carefully went over day by day, week by week, before his determination on whether or not Rivera’s right to a speedy trial was violated.
The judge did deny the defense’s request for nominal bail, determining that Rivera’s right to a speedy trial has been violated, but the $500,000 bail remains because he’s a flight risk.
After the ruling, Rivera turned around and shouted, “it was an accident!”
“He, up from where he was sitting, when the bailiffs went to take him back, he yelled back to the audience, ‘It was an accident! No matter what I do it’s never going to be able to bring him back!’ And we understand that, but he still has to pay for his decision,” said Lindsay Gardner, family friend and spokesperson.
“It was rough seeing someone who took such a vital part of our community away, in person. Every emotion was there, the anger, sadness, disgust, and hearing him say, ‘Oh, I lost things too!’ He took away somebody’s kid, somebody’s brother, somebody’s cousin,” said Gabriella Scarnato, Aiden’s friend.
A video shot by Rivera’s girlfriend on the morning of the crash played in court, where she’s angrily calling him out for driving on a suspended license, then showing him speeding off.
The judge agreed that he is a flight risk.
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