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H&M opening Sept. 28 at Wyoming Valley Mall

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Trucksville man pleaded guilty Friday to vehicular homicide charges stemming from a fatal drunken driving crash last year in Kingston Township that killed his girlfriend.</p><p>Christopher M. Tirpak, 38, was behind the wheel after leaving a fundraising event at a bar when his vehicle slammed into a tree near Mount Olivet Road just after 10 p.m. Aug. 6, 2016, prosecutors said.</p><p>Tirpak suffered minor injuries. But his girlfriend and mother of his two young children, Janeen M. Seitz, 39, later died. Her death was ruled a homicide. She was not wearing a seat belt, authorities said.</p><p>Prosecutor Justin Richards said while Seitz&#8217;s relatives continue to mourn, they support Tirpak and are &#8220;not trying to crucify him for what occurred.&#8221; The family was not present at Friday&#8217;s hearing, but were aware of the plea and &#8220;on board&#8221; with it, Richards said.</p><p>Tirpak struck a deal that called for him to plead guilty to homicide by motor vehicle and two counts of driving under the influence. Two summary traffic offenses were withdrawn.</p><p>Testing after the crash revealed Tirpak had a blood-alcohol level of 0.158 percent, Richards said. That&#8217;s almost double the .08 driving limit.</p><p>The prosecutor also noted Tirpak was going about 65 mph in a 35 mph zone. Tirpak later told investigators he didn&#8217;t remember much of the drive or how fast he was going, according to Richards.</p><p>Tirpak&#8217;s attorney, John J. Waldron of Allentown, called the case a &#8220;tragedy.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They have a couple of kids,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just upsetting what happened. It&#8217;s sad.&#8221;</p><p>Tirpak faces up to seven years in prison, though prosecutors said they will seek a county prison sentence of no more than two years.</p><p>Waldron believed prosecutors took into account that Tirpak, who has custody of the children, is &#8220;a family man&#8221; who has to be around to provide for them.</p><p>&#8220;They were compassionate in how they charged this and what sentencing they&#8217;re looking for,&#8221; Waldron said of prosecutors.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge William H. Amesbury accepted Tirpak&#8217;s plea and allowed him to remain free on bail pending sentencing Nov. 27.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Christopher M. Tirpak, right, leaves the Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre on Friday after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide charges. Prosecutors said they are seeking a sentence of no more than two years in county prison. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_tirpak-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Christopher M. Tirpak, right, leaves the Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre on Friday after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide charges. Prosecutors said they are seeking a sentence of no more than two years in county prison. </caption0><photoCredit0>Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Trucksville man pleads guilty in fatal DUI crash that killed girlfriend