Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan has announced a state prison sentence for a man charged with killing a woman in a 2021 crash in Whitehall Township.

Juan Ramone Sierra, 45, of Allentown, pleaded guilty Jan. 16 to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and accidents involving death while not licensed, both felonies of the third degree; and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, second offense.

Sierra was sentenced March 10 by Judge Thomas M. Caffrey to serve five to 10 years in prison followed by seven years of probation.

According to the report, around 12:30 a.m. Aug. 9, 2021, Pennsylvania State Police were called to a fatal crash on Route 22 West near Route 145 in the township.

The investigation showed the driver, identified as Sierra, was traveling west when it left the road, continued into the grass and struck the base of a light pole. Jessica Rivera, 41, of Allentown, was a passenger inside Sierra’s car and was pronounced dead at the scene. She died from multiple blunt force trauma, and her death was ruled accidental by the Lehigh County coroner.

Sierra was injured in the crash and taken to an area hospital. At the time of the crash, Sierra’s driver’s license was suspended.

A search warrant was obtained for the car, and investigators found drugs and drug paraphernalia inside. Blood tests results from Sierra after the crash showed the presence of amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC, the primary psychoactive compound found in marijuana, according to the news release from the district attorney’s office.