A Pennsylvania woman has been found guilty in an accident that killed a mail carrier

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A Greene County woman has been found guilty of vehicular homicide and other charges in a crash that killed a mail carrier in 2021, authorities said.

Tina Phillips was found guilty of vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October 2021 crash that killed Chad Varner on Andrews Road in Morris Township, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday in a press release.

According to officials, Varner was struck and killed by Phillips after exiting his vehicle to deliver a package. Investigators said Phillips was driving more than 70 miles per hour when her vehicle left the road, went through a hedgerow and struck Varner. The posted speed limit was 40 miles per hour.

A witness who saw the accident ran to a local store to call 911 because there was no reception at the scene, investigators said in 2021.

Phillips, who was charged in March 2022, told law enforcement that she did not remember much of the incident, officials said.

“This entirely avoidable tragedy is a reminder that reckless and careless driving can have deadly consequences,” Attorney General Michele Henry said in the release. “No one expects to be exposed to such danger when they go to work, and there is no good reason to ever drive in a way that puts so many people at risk.”

Varner, a husband and father, was remembered as a kind man whose death “changed the chemistry” of the community.

“He was a good, family-friendly person,” Bill Baxendell told KDKA-TV in 2022. “And it’s a devastating factor for his family. It’s sad to see him go.”