NJ Man Gets Prison For Intentionally Running Over Bucks Co. Man: DA

LEVITTOWN, PA —A New Jersey man who intentionally ran over a man in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Bristol Township earlier this year has been sentenced to 12 to 24 years in state prison, authorities said.

Daniel Stephen Dietrich, 46, of Palmyra, N.J. entered guilty pleas Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter, accidents involving death or personal injury, accidents involving death or injury while not licensed and driving on a suspended driver’s license, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

. In the emotional plea hearing, Common Pleas Judge Raymond F. McHugh heard several victim impact statements from the parents, daughter, fiancé, and friends of Jason Smith, 47, of Levittown, described as a wonderful person who was “deeply loved by so many.”

“I not only lost my dad, but I lost a huge part of me that I will never get back,” his daughter said. As part of a negotiated plea, McHugh sentenced Dietrich to nine to 18 years on the voluntary manslaughter charge and three to six years on the count of accidents involving death or personal injury, with both sentences running consecutively.

Dietrich was also ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, complete an anger management course, and pay restitution to the victim’s family to cover funeral costs. Smith was struck and killed by a pickup truck driven by Dietrich on Feb. 5, at the McDonald's at 7700 Bristol Pike in Bristol Township.

After the crash, Dietrich exited the parking lot and drove away down Route 13 toward Tullytown. An investigation by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Bristol Township Police Department and aided by tips from the public led to Dietrich’s arrest a month later.

The investigation found that the two men had been involved in an earlier driving incident about a mile before they arrived at the McDonald’s restaurant. At the restaurant, surveillance footage showed Smith’s Nissan entering the McDonald’s parking lot from the Haines Road entrance.

Seconds later, Dietrich pulled his truck along the right side of Smith’s car, then stopped in the entrance-way area, blocking the entrance to other traffic.

Dietrich maneuvered his truck in front of Smith, blocked Smith’s possible forward motion, and backed into a parking spot. Smith then got out of his car, opened his trunk, retrieved a hammer, and began to approach Dietrich’s truck, the surveillance footage showed.

As Smith got close, Dietrich accelerated and made a hard left turn into Smith. Deitrich knocked Smith to the ground, drove over him and continued driving out of the McDonald’s parking lot.

The surveillance footage showed that Dietrich had an alternative, clear exit out of the parking spot by driving to the right.

This investigation was led by Bucks County Detectives and Bristol Township Detectives with assistance from law enforcement in New Jersey.

“This was a difficult case due to the sheer randomness and then the resulting homicidal violence of the encounter between the defendant and the victim,” District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said. “Even though Mr. Smith is dead, and Mr. Dietrich must now spend a decade or two in prison due their road rage encounter, I am still hopeful that his guilty plea will allow Mr. Smith’s family to grieve in the way that they choose. They have demonstrated incredible grace throughout this difficult time.”