A drunken driver who caused a deadly accident while headed to the Jersey Shore back in 2009 has finally been convicted of and sentenced for her crime. In a court ruling that will hopefully help a grief stricken Philadelphia area family to feel that justice is being served, Tiece Riddick, 35, of Sicklerville PA, has been sentenced to more than 7 years.
Riddick harshly rear-ended the Ford Taurus of driver Darlene Siska while Siska was driving in the right hand lane near Exit 38 in Winslow Township during the day of the accident. Siska’s vehicle spun into another lane, and crashed through the guardrail before running into a wooded area in the median of the highway according to reports.
Siska suffered from injury after the accident, as did her two teenage passengers, her son, Vaughn, 14, and his good friend Tyler Rugg, 14. For Siska’s friend, 53 year old Kathleen Lucus, 44, of Western Pennsylvania, however, the accident proved to be immediately fatal.
Tiece Riddick failed a field sobriety test directly following the motor vehicle accident and was alarmingly, found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 while taking a breathalyzer test more than two hours after the collision.
Riddick has been charged with vehicular homicide, for which was sentenced 7 years by Superior Court Judge Louise Donaldson in Camden, and three counts of assault by auto, to run concurrently, for which she is expected to serve an additional 27 months. At least 85 percent of her sentence must be served because Riddick is eligible for parole.
The family of friends of Kathleen Lucus, who was well known as a role model in her community, continue to grieve the tragic 2009 incident. If your family member has been injured in a drunk driving accident, contact a Philadelphia injury lawyer to see that justice is served for your loved one.