Forest Hills man gets house arrest for Plum crash that left 1 dead, 1 seriously injured

Jean Armany suffered serious injuries on June 15, 2018, when her car was broadsided by a man driving recklessly in Plum.

The Shaler woman had 25 fractures that required immobilizers and surgery and her lacerated lungs required chest tubes.

Her 90-year-old mother, Olga Kocon, a passenger in Armany’s car, was hurt worse.

Doctors told the family that Kocon, of Saxonburg, would not survive. Two days after the crash, hospital staff moved Armany from her room in Forbes Hospital to her mother’s room, where she joined her family to say goodbye.

As they gathered, Armany said in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, each person said something they remembered most about her mom.

“I said she was the most forgiving person I knew. She was,” Armany told the court. “Mr. Stutz, I would like to follow her example and offer you my forgiveness. May God be with you.”

Richard Stutz, 45, of Forest Hills, who pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault by vehicle in the case, offered his own tear-filled apology.

Related:

• From 2018: New Kensington man charged with homicide in June car crash that killed woman, 90

In exchange for his plea, Stutz, formerly of New Kensington, was ordered by Judge Thomas E. Flaherty to serve 18 months of electronic home monitoring and two years of probation.

Investigators said Stutz had been driving in the area of Coxcomb Hill and Logans Ferry roads in Plum when his SUV struck Armany’s car as she tried to make a left turn.

Stutz had been traveling more than 60 mph in an area with a speed limit of 35 mph when he struck Armany’s car, police said. Both Armany and Kocon were trapped in the car after the crash and had to be cut out by emergency responders.

During an emotional hearing on Tuesday, Armany and her husband described her injuries as well as the impact that her mother’s death had on them.

Armany, 69, described Kocon as “a well of wisdom and care” who “provided a wonderful example of how to care for and to provide for family.”

“And she was fun,” Armany said.

She described her mom as being interested in life, well informed and interested in current events. Kocon had a great sense of humor and was able to laugh at herself, her daughter said.

Armany’s husband, Matthew, said his wife was in excruciating pain for a long time after the crash and remained in the hospital and then at rehabilitation facilities for two months.

Once she returned home on Aug. 16, 2018, her husband said he modified their home so she could walk with a walker and cane. Although Jean Armany said she has made progress, she told the court she still hasn’t regained full strength in her left arm.

After her mother’s death, Jean Armany told the court, her brother moved in with their father to help care for him.

“We knew dad missed her terrible,” Jean Armany said.

Her brother would sometimes find their father holding their mom’s picture. Their father would die eight-and-a-half months later.