Driver pleads guilty to hitting man on crutches

A DRIVER WHO struck a man crossing a street on crutches last year pleaded guilty Thursday and apologized for taking another man's life.

"I'm so sorry someone lost his life in this situation," George Mullen, 26, said before Common Pleas Judge J. Scott O'Keefe. "It bothers me every day that someone lost his uncle or brother, who is not coming home."

It was about 11 p.m. June 6, 2014, when Mullen, driving a Ford Taurus north on Frankford Avenue, just past Sheffield Avenue in Holmesburg, struck Timothy Quisito, 49, Assistant District Attorney Alisa Shver said.

Quisito, who lived in Holmesburg, began to cross Frankford Avenue when the light was green for him, but was not able to make it all the way across because he was on crutches, the prosecutor said.

Mullen, who began to accelerate when he had the green light, did not see Quisito, Shver said. Quisito suffered a head injury from the crash and died four days later at Aria Health's Torresdale hospital.

Cops who responded to the scene smelled marijuana from the Taurus, and Mullen told them he had about 3 1/2 pounds of marijuana in his trunk. The cops also recovered $4,800 "in a roll" in a child's back car seat, and a 9 mm loaded handgun in the glove compartment, Shver said. The gun had been reported stolen, she said.

A few hours after the crash, a blood draw was taken from Mullen, and an analysis later showed he had a small amount of marijuana in his system.

Defense attorney Guy Sciolla said Mullen "is truly remorseful" and did not commit any traffic violations when the accident occurred.

"He wasn't speeding. It was dark," Sciolla said, adding that Mullen stopped his car and cooperated with the cops.

O'Keefe agreed with both lawyers that "this was a tragic accident." But he said the gun and the marijuana in the car were not a tragic accident.

Mullen pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, DUI, possession with intent to deliver marijuana and a gun charge.

O'Keefe sentenced Mullen to 2 1/2 to five years in prison - the negotiated sentence between the prosecution and defense - and gave him credit for the 13 months he has already served in jail.

The judge also ordered a 12-month license suspension and ordered Mullen to take a safe-driving course.

About a dozen of Mullen's family members were in court. Afterward, they said Mullen was most recently living in Mayfair and grew up in Hatboro. He is married and has three young kids.

"We definitely have remorse for the [victim's] family, we really do," Penny Mullen, the defendant's mother, said. "There was nothing intentionally done. It was truly an accident."

Renee Winslow, one of the defendant's five sisters, said of her brother: "He's an amazing man. He just made mistakes."

The family said Mullen was working as a cook at a pizza shop in Perkasie. The mother said her son sold marijuana to earn more money for his family.

Quisito did not have family members in the courtroom.

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