A Julian man found guilty of killing a 68-year-old pedestrian in a hit-and-run accident will wait until Dec. 16 for his sentencing, a Centre County district attorney said.

Jack M. Chencharick, 39, of 1300 Steele Hollow Road, was convicted of hitting Leon Shee Sin at about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 30 as Sin walked home from work on North Atherton Street.

Chencharick's sentencing was scheduled for last Tuesday, but the death of his young son's mother pushed the court date to December, Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall said.

Marshall said the mother of Chencharick's 6-year-old son was murdered in Blair County over the weekend.

"It's out of concern for the 6-year-old child," he said. "The kid just lost his mother and if [Chencharick] were sentenced, the kid would lose his father for at least a year."

Marshall said Chencharick will spend at least one year incarcerated, and he could face the maximum of seven years in jail for the charges.

Judge Thomas Kistler granted the defense's motion to postpone the sentencing, Marshall said.

Marshall added that it is not unusual for a sentencing to be rescheduled if the defendant has a good reason.

In January, Chencharick was driving on North Atherton Street when he struck Sin in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken, 2020 N. Atherton St., severing Sin's aorta and breaking his back, skull and pelvis, according to court documents.

Chencharick testified that he felt his vehicle "bobble," but he had no idea he hit a person. When he pulled into a nearby parking lot to check if there was any damage to his vehicle, he said there was only minor damage to the front passenger side.

He was arrested March 10 when he went to the Patton Township police station because his car fit the make and model of the vehicle police believed to be involved in the accident.

Detective Chris Federinko, the investigating officer, said Chencharick told officers he came to the police station "to clear his name" and invited them to look at his truck. He said he noticed some replacements to the passenger front hood area that looked too new to fit Chencharick's claim that he had done them last September.

Chencharick confessed to hitting Sin after being confronted with surveillance tapes that placed him at the scene when the accident occurred, Federinko said. He was convicted on the charge of accidents resulting in death and fleeing the scene, along with some lesser charges.