A drunk driver has been ordered to serve 5–1/2 to 12 years in state prison for killing a woman pedestrian outside Wissinoming Park in 2013 after the victim had pushed her longtime husband out of the vehicle’s path.
Eric Luciano, 35, of North Philadelphia, was impaired when he lost control of his 1999 Pontiac Montana minivan while traveling southbound on the 5700 block of Frankford Ave. at about 9:36 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2013. The van veered into oncoming traffic, cleared a curb and struck Teresa Marquard, 58, of the 6100 block of Gillespie St. A tree then stopped the vehicle in its tracks.
Marquard and her husband were walking northbound along Frankford Avenue in front of the park. Police said at the time that the woman spotted the out-of-control van, screamed and pushed her longtime husband, Albert, out of harm’s way. Marquard was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after 10 a.m.
Luciano was critically injured in the crash, but recovered. Authorities did not arrest him initially but took his blood sample and charged him on May 29, 2013. He pleaded guilty in November to homicide by vehicle while DUI and related offenses. ••
