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Driver in Deadly Montage Mountain Crash Sentenced

SCRANTON — The driver who admitted to hitting and killing a man after a concert in Lackawanna County was sentenced Wednesday morning. Ivy Giordano was all...

SCRANTON -- The driver who admitted to hitting and killing a man after a concert in Lackawanna County was sentenced Wednesday morning.

Ivy Giordano was allowed to walk free after her sentencing in Lackawanna County Court but before she left she apologized directly to the family of Michael Sanders.

He died after being hit by Giordano's car in August of 2013.

Sanders' family came to the courthouse in matching T-shirts to hear Giordano's sentence.

michael sanders

"It's just a very long overdue day for the Sanders family," said the victim's sister Sarah Mecca.  "We're hoping that we can find peace with what has happened here today, and justice has been served."

Giordano was sentenced to six months of house arrest followed by two years of probation and she must complete 150 hours of community service by speaking to students about the dangers of drunk driving.

Giordano admits to drinking at a concert at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain in 2013.  She hit sanders with her SUV as he walked down Montage Mountain Road in Scranton.

Giordano was charged in 2014 after a year-long investigation.

Giordano's attorney contends that her blood alcohol content wasn't the only contributing factor.

"She leaves the concert, it's not over yet. He leaves the concert. Nobody is supposed to be on that road at that time. They're both leaving at an inopportune time. It's a tragedy and it's just like a tragedy of circumstances. On any given day it would not happen, but on this day it did," said attorney Paul Walker.

Sanders' family agrees that more could have been done to keep this only access road to the concert venue safe. that's why they're now preparing to sue Lackawanna County.

"There was nowhere a pedestrian could go," said attorney Jason Mattioli.  "There wasn't a sidewalk, there wasn't any warning signs, there wasn't a crosswalk. There wasn't even a shoulder. You were almost forced to walk into the road. It was a complete recipe for disaster."

A walkway along Montage Mountain Road was put in by Lackawanna County after the August 2013 crash, in part, because of a petition circulated by the Sanders family.

We asked Lackawanna County officials to comment on the pending lawsuit. A spokesperson says the county denies any liability.

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