State College Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Fatal Penns Valley Crash

A State College man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge in connection with a fatal 2020 crash in Penns Valley.

Christopher Hort, 54, faces a minimum of nearly a year in jail after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury, Centre County Deputy District Attorney Sean McGraw said. The plea agreement calls for a sentence, at the judge’s discretion, ranging from a minimum of 363 days to up to four years, which are the guidelines for sentencing when a death has occurred.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 5.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by state police at Rockview, 23-year-old John David King, an Amish resident of Penn Township, was wearing reflective clothing and operating a non-motorized scooter as he returned home from getting groceries when he was struck by a 2012 Honda Pilot the night of April 17, 2020 along Route 45 near Paradise Road.

King was pronounced dead at the scene and the Centre County Coroner’s Office ruled his cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head.

Attorney Anthony DeBoef contacted Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna on April 21 and said that his client, Hort, was involved in a crash on Route 45 around the same night as King’s death but believed he hit a deer.

Hort told police during an interview that he believed he had side-swiped a deer with his Honda Pilot on his way home from fishing at Elk Creek and Pine Creek but did not stop because he feared one of his tires might deflate, according to the affidavit.

Police found his Honda Pilot had heavy impact damage to its front end that investigators said was consistent with King’s injuries.

Hort, who is the son-in-law of late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, was charged in September 2020 after a monthslong investigation and bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.

Prior to Wednesday’s plea, Hort had been scheduled to stand trial in April.