Truck owner's motion to reduce sentence denied by operation of the law

Sept. 10--SUNBURY -- A motion was denied by operation of the law Wednesday to reduce the county prison sentence of a Riverside trucking firm owner charged in a four-vehicle accident on Route 54 in Ralpho Township that left a New York man wheelchair-bound.

Joshua S. Kovaschetz, 35, who was sentenced April 20 by Judge Charles Saylor to 6 to 23 months in county prison on two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, will remain in jail until his minimum sentence expires Oct. 22. The defendant, who also was fined $675 plus costs, has been in prison since late April.

His attorney, Kyle Rude, of Williamsport, requested Judge Charles Saylor to reduce his client's sentence by three months by having the sentences of 3 to 11 1/2 months Kovaschetz received on each count run concurrent to each other rather than consecutive.

Rude was seeking to have Kovaschetz released Wednesday.

The judge said he didn't have jurisdiction to rule since 120 days had passed since Rude filed the motion April 22. Rude said he wrote a letter to Saylor asking him to hear his motion after receiving no response from the judge's office for several weeks. The motion reportedly never reached Saylor's desk due to a paper trail mixup, and although the judge agreed to hold the hearing Wednesday, the motion had to be denied due to the 120-day rule.

After the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Michael Kovick explained, "A judge must respond in 120 days or the motion is automatically denied."

'Lost everything'

Kovaschetz told the court he has realized the consequences of his actions during his incarceration and just wants to go back to work. The defendant said, "I've lost everything."

Rude pointed out that Kovaschetz's business has failed immensely since he's been incarcerated and will continue to do so because of Kovaschetz's lack of income. Rude said his client cannot earn money through the county's work release program due to it being curtailed since a Jan. 14 fire ravaged the county jail in Sunbury, forcing inmates to be housed at SCI-Coal Township, SCI-Muncy and other prisons.

Saylor granted Kovaschetz immediate parole upon completing his minimum sentence. The defendant will remain on parole for 17 months, according to Novick.

Kovaschetz has 30 days to appeal the denial of the motion to the state Superior Court, but that would be pointless since he will be out of prison before the appeal could be heard.

Kovaschetz wasn't driving the truck involved in the accident, but owned the vehicle.

Prior to sentencing, Rude pointed out that the truck involved in the crash had passed an inspection in Connecticut four days before the March 25, 2013, accident, and that the driver, David P. McGuinn, 54, of Paxinos, had said the rig was fine after a post-inspection test run the day of the crash.

Richard Shaw, 63, of Johnson City, N.Y., was partially paralyzed in the crash and his 62-year-old wife, Brenda, also was seriously injured.

Lawsuits, other charges

According to a report from Ralpho Township police, Richard Shaw was driving a Ford Mustang east when it was rear-ended by the truck operated by McGuinn. The collision forced the Mustang into the westbound lane, where it collided head-on with a Toyota Prius driven by David L. Wolfe, of Shamokin. The Prius was subsequently rear-ended by a Dodge Dakota driven by Ricardo Contreras, of Danville.

Wolfe and his two passengers -- his wife, Judith, and their son, David -- also were injured. Contreras and McGuinn were not.

The Shaws and David L. Wolfe, of Shamokin, through his insurance company, have filed lawsuits against Kovaschetz, his trucking company and McGuinn.

McGuinn was charged with three summary offenses -- operating unsafe equipment, careless driving and an out-of-service offense. On Aug. 20, 2014, he pleaded guilty to operating unsafe equipment and paid a fine and costs totaling $127.50. The other two charges were withdrawn.

The charges in the case were filed by Ralpho Township police and state police.

Kovaschetz previously pleaded guilty to hit and run in connection with a Feb. 7, 2014, accident in Riverside and was sentenced to nine months supervised probation. He also was charged in Montour County for incidents involving his trucking business, and with a separate DUI offense in Montour County.

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