A White Haven man avoided state prison Friday morning for a causing and fleeing the scene of a crash that left an 81-year-old man with serious injuries in January.

David Parker, 30, will serve his 8-23 month sentence in Carbon County Prison after pleading guilty to accident involving death or injury while not licensed, driving while license is suspended, and accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Jacob Dinkelacker of the Kidder Township Police Department, he was dispatched to Route 940 for a crash and found the victim and a witness standing on the eastbound side of Route 940. The victim was bleeding from his head, and said he was in a crash but didn’t know what happened.

The man’s black 2012 Mercedes-Benz was about 12 feet down an embankment off to the north side of Route 940 west.

A witness said a white vehicle down the road was also involved. He said he saw a man exiting the driver’s side but did not witness the crash.

Dinkelacker located the white Chevrolet Impala but the driver was gone.

He wrote in the affidavit that he recognized the car from past incidents and was aware that Parker, 30, regularly drives the vehicle despite having a suspended driver’s license, and has a history of fleeing the scene of crashes.

Dinkelacker determined Parker struck the victim’s vehicle, causing him to go airborne, striking a tree and falling about 12 feet, coming to a final resting place, which resulted in what was later determined to be life-threatening injuries.

Police said Parker crossed a double yellow line and was almost struck by a vehicle in the oncoming traffic lane. He swerved back into the westbound lane striking the rear of the victim’s vehicle. Parker coasted to a stop and both he and the woman ran from the car.

Parker had an active arrest warrant at the time of the crash, and the vehicle’s registration had expired in December. This was the third violation that Parker had for driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Parker said he was “very remorseful for the incident caused by recklessness and selfishness in trying to avoid recognition by police.”

Parker told the court he would “dedicate his life to helping the victim in any way he could.”

Carbon County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Matika said he wavered between a state and county sentence for Parker. Matika leaned heavily on the words of the victim.

“Drop the hammer, not the ax,” the victim told Matika.

Parker’s prison term will be followed by one year of probation. He was ordered to pay $4,800 in restitution, which includes the victim’s lost wages as a church organist and the difference in the amount he received from the insurance company and the cost of another vehicle.