Crime & Safety
Levittown Man Jailed For Crash That Killed Beloved 'Hippie Bill'
The 2016 Middletown Twp crash killed William Hogan of Bensalem, who was affectionately known as "Hippie Bill" among his friends.
A young Levittown man who hit and killed a Bensalem resident affectionately known as "Hippie Bill" while driving drunk and going twice the speed limit has been sentenced to serve three to six years in state prison.
Samuel M. Dick, 22, of Heartwood Road, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI and related offenses in connection with the June 2016 death of 64-year-old William Hogan
Hogan was killed around 11:30 p.m., when Dick’s Acura hit his Cadillac El Dorado while he was turning left from Frosty Hollow Road onto Upper Orchard Drive in Middletown Township. The impact of the crash sent both vehicles sliding across the wet roadway and into a utility pole.
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Dick was going between 59 and 65 miles per hour in a 30-mph zone, investigators determined. Dick, who said he has no recollection of the crash, was knocked unconscious and taken to St. Mary Medical Center. A blood test showed his blood alcohol concentration at the time of the crash was .124 percent. His blood also showed the presence of marijuana, authorities said.
During sentencing, Dick said he has been in counseling to deal with his “sadness and guilt,” and that he is striving to become a better person. “In honor of William Hogan, I’ve tried to live a more responsible life,” Dick said during sentencing.
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Hogan, a resident of Windsor Drive in Bensalem, was affectionately known as “Hippie Bill” among his neighbors, according to information from the Bucks County District Attorney's office. Several of those friends and neighbors spoke in court during sentencing.
They described him as a caring man who reached out to help people who were struggling.
“He turned his house into several small, furnished apartments and took in homeless people, drug-addicted people, anyone who needed help,” said Dana Millard. “He got them jobs, drove them to rehab, made them doctors’ appointments. Bill gave, gave and gave.”
Hogan’s death left “a hole in my soul that cannot be filled,” Millard said.
Image of Samuel Dick via Bucks County DA
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