ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — The second man charged in a race that ended in a deadly school van crash has been sentenced to prison.
Judge Bruce Beemer sentenced Andrew Voigt to 16 months to four-and-a-half years in prison for his involvement in the crash that killed Serra Catholic High School student Samantha Kalkbrenner, and the injuries to four other students who were on the way to school two years ago.
Voigt was found guilty of five counts of reckless endangerment and several other charges at the end of May.
Tuesday’s sentencing was a moment Samantha’s family had waited for.
“Every time we come to court, we have to relive that day with the interviews and the tapes and the videos,” said Carl Kalkbrenner, Samantha’s father. “That was brutal, and now that part is over.”
The one thing Kalkbrenner and Voigt have in common is that they both served in the U.S. military and are veterans.
During Voigt’s sentencing hearing, he used his military experience and PTSD as the reason why he left the scene the day Samantha was killed.
“That actually caused me to rip up my whole — I had a prepared speech, but I wanted to focus on his service and the fact that he did not do what most service members would have done, and blamed it on PTSD," Kalkbrenner said.
Voigt has been out on bond since he was charged, after he and another man, William Soliday, were racing on Richland Avenue in Dravosburg during the morning rush hour in September of 2023, as students were on the way to school.
Previous coverage:New videos played in court show moment just before deadly school van crash in Dravosburg
They were driving close to 100 miles per hour on the busy road.
Soliday was sentenced to up to 12 years in prison earlier this year, since his car wrecked into the school van and caused Samantha to be thrown from the school van, and the van to fall on top of her, killing her.
After the crash, Voigt left the scene, drove home and removed identifying bumper stickers from his car, and then went to work.
“His actions that day — he chose to leave,“ Kalkbrenner said. ”Then he went home, and he got rid of identifying markers on his car. Then he went to work like nothing happened. Unbelievable."
Because Voigt didn’t actually strike the van, he faced lesser charges and was granted bond.
On Tuesday, Voigt’s attorney asked the judge to sentence his client to probation. But instead, Judge Beemer handed down a nearly 5-year prison sentence.
Voigt’s attorney said they were disappointed by the sentence and are weighing their options for steps forward.
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