In the early hours of New Year's Day 2022, Holly B. Vadella, a 59-year-old female, was tragically killed in what authorities described as a senseless act of road rage. She was driving home after spending New Year's Eve with her mother when the fatal encounter occurred on Rostraver Road near Virginia Drive in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania. Holly, a lifelong resident of the Belle Vernon area, worked as a secretary at California University of Pennsylvania.
The incident began when Anthony
Hairston, then 25, became enraged because he felt Vadella was driving too slowly as he was trying to get to a bar before it closed. Witnesses who were in the car with Hairston told police that he attempted to pass Vadella's vehicle. As he passed, Hairston fired two shots into Vadella's car, with one striking and killing her. A Rostraver police officer later discovered Vadella deceased in her car along the side of the road. Her death was officially ruled a homicide caused by a gunshot wound.
Following the shooting, an investigation was launched by the Rostraver Township Police and the Westmoreland County Detective Bureau. Investigators were able to identify Anthony Hairston as the suspect, and he was subsequently arrested. Hairston, of Belle Vernon, was charged with first-degree murder and two felony counts of prohibited possession of a firearm.
In November 2024, a jury found Anthony Hairston guilty of third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and drug and firearm offenses. In February 2025, he was sentenced to serve 40 to 80 years in a state prison for the murder of Holly Vadella. The judge imposed the maximum sentence for third-degree murder, with the Westmoreland County District Attorney calling the crime 'unprovoked, senseless and egregious.'
