Jurors Find Man Charged In Thanksgiving Day Fatal Crash Guilty Of 3rd-Degree Homicide
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The man accused of causing a crash that killed a family of three on Thanksgiving Day in 2016 has been convicted on most of the counts he was facing.
After three days of deliberations, jurors found Demetrius Coleman guilty of three counts each of third-degree homicide, homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault on Friday afternoon.
Coleman testified in his own defense earlier this week, saying he didn't mean to kill anyone.
"He wasn't thinking. In fact, that was actually his defense and our defense. It was impulse. It was reckless. It was poor judgment," defense attorney Brent McCune said.
Prosecutors say Coleman ran from a police stop, and then crashed into another car along Route 30 in North Versailles.
A Pitcairn couple, 29-year-old David Lee Bianco and his 21-year-old fiancée Kaylie Meininger, and their 2-year-old daughter, Annika, were killed.
Police say at the time of the crash, Coleman had a suspended license.
Now that jurors have convicted Coleman, the defense and prosecution will argue over whether it should be a mandatory life sentence.
"It's possible [Coleman will spend the rest of his life in prison]. I will say likely unless the statute's unconstitutional. Making the three, murder three's a life sentence," McCune said.
