A judge sentenced a Providence Township man to eight to 20 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty earlier this year of killing a man and seriously injuring his elderly wife after crashing into them head-on while driving under the influence of drugs on Christmas Day.

Judge Dennis Reinaker handed down the sentence to David Ray Whisman, of the 300 block of Hollow Road, on July 1. Whisman had pleaded guilty without an agreement in January to 10 different offenses including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Whisman, 44, was under the influence of fentanyl and other substances when he crashed head-on into the victims’ vehicle along Lancaster Pike just south of its intersection with Truce Road in Providence Township the afternoon of Dec. 25, 2022. The vehicle’s passenger, Frank Cascarella, 86, died weeks later of injuries sustained in the crash. 

Cascarella’s then-80-year-old wife, who was driving the vehicle, suffered brain bleeding, a tear across her liver and a seven-inch cut on her knee but survived. Prior to Whisman being sentenced she lamented that they could not celebrate what would have been their 60th wedding anniversary last fall.

Nearly a dozen of Cascarella’s other surviving family members were present for the sentencing. Cascarella’s daughter described the grandfather of 12 as a lover of sports and life who had a contagious laugh and lived a life of “selflessness and service to others” before he was killed.

Reinaker described Cascarella as a “pillar of the community” whose death “is a loss for all of us.”

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo, who prosecuted the case, described Cascarella’s death as a needless tragedy considering Whisman’s repeated failures to address his addictions.

When given the chance to speak prior to his sentencing Whisman apologized to Cascarella’s family, admitting that he didn’t address his drug problems as he should have.

“My addiction got the best of me,” Whisman said. 

A blood sample taken in the hours after the collision showed that Whisman had fentanyl, multiple opioids and a horse tranquilizer in his system. 

Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Joshua Knepp, who responded to the scene and filed the charges, found drug residue and paraphernalia inside Whisman’s vehicle, including bags labeled as containing opioids. Whisman struggled to maintain consciousness as Knepp spoke with him at the scene and later admitted to having smoked fentanyl several hours before driving. 

An analysis of Whisman’s vehicle determined that he drifted into oncoming traffic moments before the crash, leaving the victims with no time to react.