Guilty Plea In Fatal Marshall Twp. Drunken Driving Ambulance CrashShanea Climo Pleads Guilty To 5 CountsPOSTED: 11:35 am EST December 4,
2008 PITTSBURGH -- A former Cranberry ambulance driver pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with an accident that killed two people.Prosecutors said Shanea Climo was drunk behind the wheel of an ambulance in September 2007 when the vehicle broadsided a car.Climo also pleaded guilty to two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of driving under the influence.Douglas Stitt, 38, of Mercer, and Phillip Bacon, 31, of Sharpsville, were driving on Route 19 at Brushcreek Road in Marshall Township when the ambulance driven by Climo slammed into their car, killing them both.The families of the victims were at Thursday's hearing at the Allegheny County courthouse to hear Climo's guilty plea.Climo admitted to drinking and driving that night, as well as pleading guilty to the other charges."In some way, it's a beginning of a closure for me. I've had a lot of sleepless nights. I'll have a lot more," said Deborah Bacon, Phillip Bacon's mother.Police said Climo was transporting a 90-year-old patient and was speeding with the ambulance lights turned on, but not the siren, when the vehicles collided.Climo could face up to 15 years in prison for the crimes, but prosecutors say because she pleaded guilty, they will recommend she only serve one to two years."It's kind of a relief knowing that she can possibly go to prison over it and the amount of time she can go. It still doesn't bring him back," said Douglas Stitt's brother, Mark Stitt.The families of both victims say, in the end, how much time Climo spends behind bars is not the most important thing. They believe her true sentence is living with what she's done."You have to put your faith in God sometimes. And that's what I did. He'll deal with her," said Bacon."He was just like a hero to me. I get choked up just thinking about it," Stitt said.Climo remains free until her sentencing hearing. A date for the hearing has not yet been set, but is expected sometime in February.
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