Driver gets short term for killing Pa. man in yard

Driver gets short term for killing Pa. man in yard

SHARON, Pa. (AP) — A judge sentenced a western Pennsylvania woman to three months to two years in jail after hearing her apologize for killing a 73-year-old man and seriously injuring his wife by driving into their yard last year.

Mercer County Judge Robert Yeatts said Monday he was inclined to sentence 51-year-old Laurel Gardner to state prison. But he decided on a shorter sentence that she’ll serve in the county jail after hearing the woman’s apology, comments from her friends and after the dead man’s widow, Margaret Doughton, told the court she has forgiven Gardner.

The Herald of Sharon, Pa. reports Gardner was trying to pass another vehicle then swerved out of control when she saw oncoming traffic hitting Doughton and her husband, Thomas, who was killed, as the couple worked in their yard on July 29, 2011.