It wasn't so much that Judah Simon hit Samuel Reed while driving along the Parkway East about 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2007.

It was that the man, now 30, left the University of Pittsburgh sophomore on the road, to be run over twice more. That he drove for more than two miles with his windshield smashed and sunken in, until his car could no longer move, and then ran to his brother's home. Then waited for 21/2 hours, negotiating with police to turn himself in.

"Standing here today, both he and his mother continue to blame the victim," said Assistant District Attorney Rebecca A. Walker. "They compare their devastation with the Reeds. Burying a child has to be one of the most devastating things anyone could ever go through."

Ms. Walker asked Judge Anthony Mariani to require Mr. Simon to serve his negotiated sentence -- one year less a day to two years less two days incarceration -- in the Allegheny County Jail.

But the judge could not fully agree to the request.

Instead, he ordered Mr. Simon, who pleaded guilty in January to homicide by vehicle, to serve 60 days in the county jail, to be followed by some form of alternative housing.

For his part, Mr. Simon apologized to the Reed family, of Berks County. They were not in court, and instead provided the judge with a victim-impact statement at the plea hearing.

Mr. Simon's mother, Frances, told the judge that like the Reeds, her family has been affected, as well.

"Sept. 1, 2007, was the worst day of our lives," she said. "It devastated two families. It took one life and ruined another.

"I have watched Judah's life unravel as a result of this accident."

She described her son as loving, thoughtful and compassionate, and told Judge Mariani how he has become depressed and anxious since the crash.

Judge Mariani acknowledged the difficulty of Mr. Simon's position with regard to the accident.

Mr. Reed, an anthropology major, was on foot on the Parkway in the middle of the night, wearing dark clothing. He darted into the fast lane of outbound traffic in front of Mr. Simon.

"He's at a place he shouldn't be, at a time he shouldn't be there," the judge said. "Clearly, he endangered himself."

But the judge continued.

"Two and a half hours is a long time for a kind, caring, compassionate man to be bargaining with the police."

In addition to incarceration, Mr. Simon must serve five years of probation and pay the $5,346 bill for Mr. Reed's funeral expenses.

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