Second driver in deadly Serra Catholic school van crash sentenced to maximum of 4 and 1/2 years in prison
Andrew Voigt, the second of two men who were racing and found to have caused a deadly school van crash nearly two years ago, was sentenced to a maximum of 4 and 1/2 years in prison on Tuesday.
Voigt will serve between 16 and 54 months in prison for his role in the deadly crash.
Serra Catholic High School student Samantha Kalkbrenner was killed in a fiery crash in September 2023 when the school van she was riding in was hit by a speeding vehicle along Richland Avenue in Dravosburg.
"I'm surprised about the sentence as the judge was reading it. I was counting it on my fingers, adding it up," said Carl Kalkbrenner, Samantha's father.
Voigt and another man, William Soliday, were charged several months after the deadly crash and police said the two men were racing at a high speed before the collision took place.
Voigt was found guilty in May on five charges of recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving, careless driving, and speeding-related charges.
Earlier this year, Soliday, whose vehicle slammed into the school van, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was subsequently sentenced to serve 5 and 1/2 to 12 years in prison.
At the time the guilty verdicts were handed down, Judge Bruce Beemer stated that while Voigt may not have been the one to hit the school van, his actions contributed to the crash.
Several spoke on Voigt's behalf on Tuesday, calling him a good man who fled the scene after the crash due to PTSD he suffered while in the Army.
Samantha's father is a former Marine with three combat tours. He told KDKA-TV that he doesn't buy that excuse.
"His actions that day. He chose to leave. Then he went home, then he got rid of identifying markers on the car, and then went to work like nothing happened," Carl said. "And then for him to come in and say he has PTSD, okay, a lot of people do, but that doesn't excuse bad behavior ever."
One of the stickers police say Voigt removed from his Jeep in the hours after the crash allegedly showed a tank running over stick figure people.
The caption reads, "No one cares about your stick figure family."
When it was his turn to address the court, Andrew Voigt said he was sorry and asked everyone in the room to recite the Lord's Prayer.
With the trial over, Samantha's parents say they will now focus on the future.
"She was an amazing girl, and now she's an amazing angel," Carl said.