Chesapeake man sentenced in motorcycle traffic death

Posted on Jan 29, 2010

A man accused of contributing to the death of a Grady motorcycle rider in August of 2007 was recently sentenced to a minimum jail sentence of two years and five months and a maximum sentence of three years and eight months. The man, 46 year old Paul Graves Hill, pleaded guilty to felony death by motor vehicle in Currituck Superior Court.

Hill was driving a pickup truck on Southland Trade the night of the accident, and tried to cross five lanes of traffic to reach a dealership. As he was cutting across the lanes he got in the way of Williams’ motorcycle, causing Williams to crash into the pickup truck.

As a result of the collision Williams was thrown into the air and landed on the highway. He died after being airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

Hill was originally charged with driving while impaired, murder, and felony death by motor vehicle. He pleaded guilty only to the felony charge as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution. The judge accepted the plea only after it was agreed to by the family of the victim, Ruby Williams.

According to the Assistant District Attorney in the case, Williams’ family agreed to the plea deal to ensure that Hill would spend time in jail. The family feared, according to the assistant DA, that he might receive a lighter sentence if he went before a jury.

Hill will begin his prison sentence March 6, after undergoing surgery he had scheduled before the trial. Hill has been arrested twice before for driving while impaired, once in 1991 and again in 2000, when he was convicted.

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