{"id":5066,"date":"2012-10-02T15:07:39","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=5066"},"modified":"2012-10-02T15:08:12","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:08:12","slug":"new-garden-man-sentenced-for-homicide-by-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=5066","title":{"rendered":"New Garden man sentenced for homicide by vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fatal crash claimed life of longtime educator and grandfather<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Harry Ernst, a longtime educator, was killed last November in a crash on Rt. 202 after Jose A. Jaimes went through a red light.<\/p><\/div>\n

During a brief but emotional hearing, a 20-year-old New Garden Township man pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and related offenses today in connection with a fatal crash in November.<\/p>\n

Under the terms of a plea agreement accepted by Chester County Court Judge David F. Bortner, Jose A. Jaimes will serve three to 12 months in prison for causing the crash that killed Harry Ernst, 81, of West Chester, a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.<\/p>\n

One of Ernst\u2019s daughters, Ilana Ernst, had planned to read a victim-impact statement but was too distraught and handed the paper to Assistant District Attorney Max O\u2019Keefe. Ilana Ernst, who shared a residence with her daughter and her father, was a passenger in her father\u2019s car on Nov. 7 when Jaimes ran a red light on Rt. 202 at the Stetson Middle School, crashing into the Ernsts\u2019 vehicle, court records said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of the crash was horrific,\u201d the letter said, describing the unspeakable pain of \u201cwatching my dad pass away right next to me.\u201d The letter said she left her job last month in part because her travel route took her past the same intersection, forcing her to \u201crelive the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaimes, who was represented by attorneys Thomas K. Schindler and Jordan Ludwick,\u00a0apologized to half a dozen members of the Ernst family who attended the proceeding. \u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry,\u201d he said, adding that he believed the victim \u201cwas in a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because O\u2019Keefe did not object, the judge agreed to permit Jaimes to begin his sentence on Oct. 26, three days after he graduates from automotive school. Jaimes was also ordered to pay more than $17,000 restitution for funeral and medical expenses for the Ernst family.<\/p>\n

Harry Ernst,\u00a0a graduate of Kutztown University and father of two daughters and a son, taught biology at Haverford High School, worked an\u00a0an EMT with Good Fellowship Ambulance, and was a\u00a0regular fixture at the front desk of many local fitness clubs in the West Chester area, according to his obituary. This year, the first-ever Harry Ernst Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating Haverford High School senior who is accepted to a post-secondary education program in secondary education or the natural sciences.<\/p>\n

After the hearing, Dawson \u201cRich\u201d Muth, an attorney for the Ernst family, said family members, who have been consumed with grief over the loss of their loved one, were gracious in accepting the realization that homicide by vehicle does not carry a lengthy prison term. \u201cEven though there\u2019s a horrendous result, it\u2019s not an intentional act, and the sentencing guidelines reflect that,\u201d Muth said.<\/p>\n

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