Fatal DUI Defendant Gets Prison Term For Montco Crash That Killed Chesco Man

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — A Lehigh Valley man may spend up to nearly a decade behind bars after a state judge on Monday sentenced him in connection with a fatal DUI crash that took the life of a Chester County man in the fall of 2021.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy sentenced Devon Michael Lindeman, 24, of South Whitehall Township, to a state prison term of 4 years and 9 months to 9-and-a-half years in connection with the Sept. 18, 2021, crash on South Park Avenue here.

The victim, Paul Conaway, 63, graduated from Oxford Valley School, Oxford, where he was a star soccer player. He enlisted in the U.S. Army.

In 1997, Conway acquired Wanamaker Ticket Agency, Philadelphia. He loved horseback racing and was an avid Philly sports fan. He also enjoyed concerts and the theater.

Court records show that in May, Lindeman pleaded guilty to felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI and aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence with a high rate of alcohol and recklessly endangering another person.

Records show that Lindeman's blood alcohol concentration was somewhere between 0.10 percent and 0.16 percent at the time of the fatal crash.

The legal limit is 0.08 in Pennsylvania.

The criminal docket sheet in the case shows that in addition to the prison sentence, the judge also ordered that Lindeman's driver's license be suspended and that he has no contact with the victim's family.

The Mercury newspaper reported that during sentencing on Monday, Demchick-Alloy reprimanded Lindeman for his reckless actions.

"You were a menace and a hazard behind that wheel, driving like an out of control bully on the roadway," the judge reportedly stated in court. "You endangered everyone in that Lower Providence community."

Lindeman reportedly apologized at the time of sentencing, according to the report, calling his actions "irresponsible."

Sentencing on some of the charges was consecutive while others were concurrent, according to the court records in the case.

Prosecutors can argue for consecutive sentencing when crimes are particularly egregious.

Lindeman is also facing criminal charges in Lehigh County relating to another fatal crash that involved a motorcycle in the summer of 2020.

Records from Lehigh County Common Pleas Court show that felony homicide by vehicle and other related charges were filed against Lindeman in that county in December of last year.

Those charges came three months after the crash that took Conaway's life in Lower Providence, Montgomery County.

The docket sheet in that case shows that trial on those charges has been scheduled for this November.

Lindeman is charged in that case with driving a delivery truck under the influence when he allegedly caused a crash that took the lives of married couple Robert and Mary O'Rourke of Lower Macungie Township.