Palmyra Resident Gets Hefty Jail Time For Fatal Bristol Road Rage
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Daniel Stephen Dietrich, 46, of Palmyra got into a road rage dispute on Bristol Pike with Jason Smith, that ended at the McDonalds on Bristol Pike and Haines Road, on February 5, 2023. It was there that Dietrich watched Smith go to his car and get a hammer.
As Smith approached Dietrich’s vehicle, he was intentionally run over . Dietrich made a hard left turn and deliberately drove over Jason Smith, after first knocking him to the ground. Smith died of his injuries. The coroner called it blunt force trauma. Dietrich never called for help. He never stopped and he never identified himself, according to court records.
He was arrested several months later. He plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, accidents involving death or personal injury, accidents involving death or injury while not licensed and driving on a suspended driver’s license. Had he left the scene without hitting Smith, he would be free today. Instead, he will do 12 to 24 years in state prison.
As part of a negotiated plea, McHugh sentenced Dietrich to nine to 18 years on the voluntary manslaughter charge and three to six years on the count of accidents involving death or personal injury, with both sentences running consecutively. Dietrich was also ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, complete an anger management course, and pay restitution to the victim’s family to cover funeral costs.