Darren Michael Martin

A Beaver County man was sentenced to 7 to 16 years in prison Friday, Dec. 8, for killing a Cranberry Township man while driving while drunk in December 2022.

Common Pleas Judge Kelley Streib sentenced Darren Michael Martin, 35, of Aliquippa, in the Dec. 4 crash that killed Bertram Forsyth, 46, of Cranberry Township. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Nov. 1.

Streib also sentenced Martin to 9 months to 5 years in prison for driving under the influence and 9 months to 3 years in prison for a charge of retail theft in an unrelated case. He also must pay more than $10,000 in restitution to Forsyth’s widow, Jennifer Forsyth.

Police said Martin’s truck struck Forsyth’s vehicle as it was entering Route 19 from Ehrman Road. Several witnesses told police that a man, later identified as Martin, was driving a Ford E-450 U-Haul truck north on Route 19 when he drove through a red light at a high rate of speed and hit two other vehicles.

Witnesses also reported to police that the truck made a “careless” U-turn at the intersection of Route 19 and American Way, proceeded to travel north on Route 19, and ran a red light at the intersection of Route 19 and North Boundary Road just before the crash, police said.

At the sentencing hearing Friday morning, Jennifer Forsyth delivered a victim impact statement and talked about the difficulty her family and children have had dealing with her husband’s death.

She asked that the judge consider keeping Martin off the road and off substances for as long as possible so no one else suffers the death of a loved one.

She said her husband he would probably be the first one to forgive Martin for his actions.

Martin told Forsyth’s family that he was sorry, and he would use his time in prison to learn and pray for their peace.

In her sentencing, Streib requested that she receive notice of when Martin is eligible for parole so the Forsyth family can be alerted.

Martin has been in the Butler County Prison since his arrest.