A Petrolia man received a minimum two-year prison sentence Thursday, Sept. 15, for his involvement in a 2020 vehicle crash that killed his passenger, but he was immediately paroled.

David Michael Tucker, 44, was sentenced to serve 24 to 60 months in prison by Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCune. Instead, he was immediately paroled to serve 24 months on house arrest, pay a $1,000 fine and complete 75 hours of community service.

Tucker pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to one felony count of accidents involving death or injury while driving without a license, related to the crash, which on July 25, 2020, claimed the life of his passenger, James Ross Jr., 56, of Butler.

Butler Township police filed the case June 21, 2021. In the documents, police said multiple witnesses saw a pickup truck carrying a small utility trailer drive down Main Street hill in Lyndora, run a stop sign and slam into a wall.

Ross was pronounced dead at the scene, and Tucker was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital with injuries. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, according to the affidavit.

On Thursday, Public Defender Joseph Smith told McCune that Tucker lost a friend in the accident, and his brakes failed after the vehicle had been inspected a couple of days earlier.

In the affidavit, police said they confirmed Tucker’s license was suspended at the time of the crash, and he had one past conviction for driving on a suspended license.