Masontown man sentenced to prison for deadly head-on crash in Nicholson Township
Pleaded guilty in May to collision that killed Smithfield woman
A Masontown man who pleaded guilty last month to causing the head-on crash that killed another motorist in 2023 will serve time in prison.
Jacob M. Manchas appeared at the Fayette County Courthouse on Wednesday and was sentenced to serve one to two years in connection with the deadly crash in Nicholson Township that killed Paula Guthrie.
Manchas, 31, was driving east on Smithfield-Masontown Road on the morning of April 18, 2023, when he crossed the center line while trying to pass another car and crashed into Guthrie’s westbound vehicle.
He was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., for treatment, while Guthrie, 62, of Smithfield, was taken to WVU Uniontown Hospital, where she died from her injuries suffered in the crash.
Just before Manchas was scheduled to go to trial earlier this month, he pleaded guilty May 27 to felony homicide by vehicle and one misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment, along with numerous summary counts. Judge Joseph George Jr. sentenced him Wednesday morning as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Immediately after the sentencing, Manchas was handcuffed and taken by sheriff’s deputies to the Fayette County jail, and he’ll eventually be transported to a state prison to serve his sentence. He had been free on unsecured bond since state police charged him in March 2024 with causing the crash that killed Guthrie.
“Paula was very beloved by her family and everyone who knew her,” District Attorney Michael Aubele said following the sentencing hearing. “It was a very horrible and preventable accident. We’re happy (Manchas) has accepted responsibility for his actions and didn’t put (Guthrie’s) family through what would’ve been a tough trial.”
Defense attorney Phyllis Jin could not be reached for comment following the sentencing.