Former doctor pleads guilty to homicide by vehicle, DUI in fatal Pine Township crash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A former UPMC doctor pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle after police said he killed his passenger, another doctor, while driving drunk in Pine Township in 2022, according to court paperwork.
Joseph Yanta pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and DUI, court paperwork shows. Yanta will serve one to two years in jail and 18 months of probation.
Police said data from the Tesla Yanta was driving in July 2022 was going over 120 mph on Wexford Bayne Road, a 35 mph zone, before he lost control around a bend and crashed, killing 47-year-old Douglas Rockacy. At the time, both were UPMC emergency room doctors.
Rockacy's family told police he and Yanta had participated in a golf outing before going to Cenci's Pizza in Wexford. According to the criminal complaint, video shows Yanta having six drinks over a two-and-a-half-hour period.
Within two hours of the crash, officers said Yanta's blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit.
Police said Yanta was using a seatbelt but Rockacy wasn't. Rockacy's friends said he was less than a mile from home.
Friends said Rockacy was not only an incredible doctor but as someone who touched thousands of lives inside and out of the office. Those who knew him remembered him for his smile and said he was a calming presence, even in the midst of chaos in the emergency room. He left behind a wife and two children.