PENNSYLVANIA — A habitual drunken driver whose fifth DUI cost a Bucks County deputy sheriff his life was sentenced today to serve six and one-half to 22 ¾ years in state prison.
In a courtroom guarded by at least 10 of the victim’s former colleagues, Harry J. Burak pleaded guilty in Bucks County Common Pleas Court to multiple felonies in the May 16, 2017, death of Deputy Keith W. Clymer.
Clymer, 48, of Kintnersville, was killed instantly when his 2006 Honda motorcycle slammed into the side of Burak’s 2017 Dodge Ram 5500 truck, which had pulled into his path on Route 313.
Burak, whose driver’s license had been revoked because of prior DUIs, had a blood alcohol concentration of .18 percent shortly after the crash, more than twice the legal limit for a person operating a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania.
Burak, 28, of East Rockhill Township, received consecutive sentences of four to 10 years for homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, one to seven years for causing an accident involving death or serious injury while not properly licensed, seven years’ probation for homicide by vehicle and three separate six- to 23-month sentences for violating his probation on three prior DUIs.
That amounted to an aggregate sentence of six and one-half years to 23 years and nine months in prison, followed by 10 years of probation. Judge Raymond F. McHugh also sentenced Burak to a concurrent two and one-half to five years and a fine of $2,500 for the DUI involved in Clymer’s death.
In doing so, McHugh accepted the terms of a plea agreement negotiated between Deputy District Attorney Robert D. James and defense attorney Steven F. Fairlie.
Burak made no statement in court about his actions, other than affirming that he understood and agreed with the terms of the negotiations.
The crash happened at about 8:30 p.m. in front of Burak’s home in the 2400 block of Route 313. Clymer was off-duty and riding his motorcycle eastbound near Sterner Mill Road when Burak pulled into Clymer’s path while turning left into his driveway.
Clymer, whose speed was calculated to be between 86 and 94 miles per hour, was pronounced dead at the scene.
While excessive speed contributed to the collision, James said, Burak’s “impaired ability to judge the distance and speed of the oncoming vehicle or react to the speed of the oncoming vehicle was the direct and substantial cause of the crash and resulting death of Keith Clymer.”
Two hours before the crash, James said, Burak had left a bar near his house with a six-pack of beer, having already consumed five pints of beer in less than an hour. He walked the half-mile to and from the bar, but nonetheless chose to drive at some point afterward.
A neighbor who was mowing his grass across the street ran over after the collision and told Burak to call 911 on his cell phone. In the call, Burak initially tried to tell the operator that only one vehicle was involved and that no one was injured before hanging up prematurely, James said.
Burak flailed his arms and struggled with police when they attempted to take him into custody, James said, forcing officers to take him to the ground and requiring several to place him in handcuffs.
The neighbor provided authorities with a video of the collision from his security camera, which showed that Burak had not used his turn signal, James said.
Clymer had worked as a deputy sheriff for Bucks County since being sworn in on December 30, 2013. He was assigned to the Domestic Relations warrant team, and was a Self Defense / Defensive Tactics instructor for the Sheriff’s Office.
In victim impact statements read in court, Clymer’s colleagues and loved ones recalled him as a good-hearted, fun-loving man devoted to his work and, especially, his two sons.
According to fellow Deputy Greg Appleton, Clymer would “spend hours of his own time talking to people to get them to turn themselves in” on domestic warrants. “He gained enormous amounts of respect from his peers in the department, as well as the subjects that he sought after … Keith was big on talking to people and truly listening to them to try and help them through whatever issues that person had.”
“Ever since my brother and I were young, we were attached to my dad at the hip. We were inseparable,” wrote his 16-year-old son, Rooney. “After the passing of my mom at the age of 15 we became even closer. He was the one that picked me up in the darkest points in my life and brushed me off. He pushed me to never give up … His heart was so big it wouldn’t fit in this room.”
Clymer’s girlfriend, Megan McCuen, called him “my biggest cheerleader, keeper of my secrets, the man that held my hand and my heart….And he was the man I was planning a future with.”
She said Clymer was on his way home from her house when he was killed, and that she had been expecting the call she always received from him when he got home.
“When Keith didn’t call, I knew something was wrong and I went looking for him,” she said. “As I approached one stop sign I looked left and saw all the emergency lights. I screamed, knowing my life will never be the same.”
After three adult DUIs and a fourth committed as a juvenile, Burak’s license had been revoked permanently the year before the crash.
“His conduct has caused serious harm,” McHugh said, adding that Burak is likely to re-offend if not imprisoned and is unlikely to respond to efforts to rehabilitate him.
“There’s nothing that I can do to bring Keith Clymer back,” the judge told the victim’s colleagues and loved ones before imposing the sentence. “There’s nothing I can do to lessen the suffering of his family and friends.”
