PITTSBURGH — A former City of Pittsburgh medic has been found guilty on all counts, including homicide by vehicle while DUI, in the March 2024 death of MaryAlice Bendick.
Sydney Richardson, 35, didn’t show much emotion when Judge Jennifer Satler announced her verdict Wednesday at the conclusion of Richardson’s nonjury trial.
Bendick’s family members were in the courtroom when the verdict was read, including her daughter, who is pregnant with Bendick’s fifth grandchild, whom she’ll never get to meet. Family members and friends told Channel 11 off-camera this has been a long time coming, saying they’re happy and relieved justice has been served, but said at the end of the day, it won’t bring MaryAlice back.
She died on March 11, 2024 – the same day her grandson was born – while on her way to meet him at UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital.
Prosecutors called six witnesses during Wednesday’s trial, starting with the taxi driver who was behind Richardson’s Dodge Ram before the collision. He provided police dash cam video from his cab, showing Richardson’s truck swerving in front of him – before crossing the double-yellow line.
Several Pittsburgh police officers also took the stand, going over images from the crash, some of which showed Bendick’s mangled Mitsubishi SUV flipped over the guiderail. Family members were emotional when those pictures were shown.
Other pictures showed several cans of White Claw alcoholic seltzer inside Richardson’s truck. She told police on the day of the crash she only had “one or two” at a bar in the South Side. A lab scientist testified that her blood alcohol level was .277, about three-and-a-half times the legal limit.
Richardson did not take the stand Wednesday. No character witnesses were called by her defense team.
Bendick’s family members said they are hoping for the maximum sentence for Richardson. That hearing is scheduled for October 28.
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