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Reconsideration of sentence denied in involuntary manslaughter case

A Spring Creek man sentenced to the maximum possible penalty on involuntary manslaughter and DUI charges has had his request for reconsideration of sentence revoked.

Online court records indicate that Judge Gregory Hammond filed an order denying the motion on Sept. 4 in the case against Timothy Doerfer.

Doerfer, 26, was sentenced in July for his role in the September 2018 ATV crash that took the life of a 19-year-old Titusville woman.

Doerfer’s attorney, Rob Kinnear, said at the time of the plea that his client wished to plead no contest because he “has no recollection” of the incident due to injuries he sustained in the accident.

According to Pennsylvania State Police, Doerfer was the driver of an ATV on Old Route 77 east of Picadilly Hill Road at about 3 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018.

Hannah A. Wright, 19, of Titusville, was a passenger on the ATV, according to police, when it struck a deer and then a parked truck.

Wright was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Doerfer was taken to Corry Memorial Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The sentence included consecutive terms of incarceration of 30 to 60 months on both charges.

Hammond said at sentencing that he has been sentencing defendants for 10 years and has “never been this moved” as he was reading the letters from the victim’s family, which he called an “unforgettable tribute” to the victim.

Hetold Doerfer he should have known better with his DUI history and said he is “a bad day away” from harming another family in this way and that his completed treatment came too late for the Wright family.

He told Doerfer that he hopes he can move on with his life when he get out of prison but noted that “no one is going to parole” the victim’s family.

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