DOYLESTOWN, PA — In a Bucks County courtroom filled beyond capacity, a Perkasie man was sentenced Wednesday to three to six years in state prison for a high-speed, alcohol-fueled crash that killed his passenger, former volunteer firefighter Joseph Kay.
Colin John Wahlers, 26, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI, fleeing and eluding police, and related offenses stemming from the June 2, 2024 crash in Hilltown Township. Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley handed down the sentence, which includes six years of concurrent probation and bars Wahlers from early release programs.
Prosecutors said Wahlers, driving an unregistered Polaris Ranger utility vehicle, fled from a Hilltown Township police officer after a traffic stop. Reaching speeds above 65 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone on Green Street, Wahlers lost control near Rickert Road, flipping the vehicle and ejecting both occupants.
Kay, 35, a respected former volunteer with the Plumsteadville Fire Company, was thrown from the vehicle and killed instantly from blunt force trauma. Wahlers suffered minor injuries. His blood-alcohol content was later measured at 0.195 percent—more than twice the legal limit.
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bukowski played dashcam and body-worn camera footage showing Officer Kevin Godfrey’s pursuit and the fatal crash. The video captured Godfrey rendering aid to the dying victim while Wahlers allegedly remarked, “Hell of a way to end a Saturday night.”
Emotional victim impact statements from Kay’s family brought many in the courtroom to tears. His mother described her son as “my pride, my joy, my purpose,” telling the court that “in an instant his life was stolen, and it was stolen by a drunk driver.”
Kay’s father, in a letter read by prosecutors, called Wahlers’ actions “a selfish, reckless, irreversible choice.”
Wahlers expressed remorse before sentencing, apologizing to Kay’s family and friends. Judge Finley acknowledged the apology but emphasized the far-reaching harm caused by the crash. “It is clear to me that the impact on the victim and family—his wife, his parents, his siblings, his friends, the community—is devastating,” he said.
The case was investigated by Hilltown and Plumstead Township Police Departments and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Homicide by Vehicle Unit. Prosecutors extended condolences to Kay’s family, friends, and former firefighting colleagues.
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