Montgomery County man convicted in vehicular homicide case
Lower Gwynedd man convicted in vehicular homicide case
COURTHOUSE — A Lower Gwynedd man showed little emotion Wednesday as a judge determined his intoxication contributed to crashing his car and killing a passenger friend after a night out drinking.
The defendant was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, homicide by vehicle, recklessly endangering other persons, DUI and reckless and careless driving in connection with the 2:49 a.m. Jan. 3, 2009, crash along Swedesford Road in Upper Gwynedd.
The crash claimed the life of 20-year-old Philadelphia man, who was a front seat passenger in the defendant’s Honda Civic.
The defendant and another Philadelphia man who was the rear seat passenger, were injured in the crash.
Judge Thomas C. Branca rendered the verdict after a three-day non-jury trial. Branca immediately revoked defendant’s bail.
“It’s OK,” defendant mouthed to his stunned father as sheriff’s deputies handcuffed him and escorted him to the county jail where he will remain until he is sentenced in August.
The case involving a young person who made poor driving decisions might have provided a lesson to some Pottsgrove High School students who observed some of the testimony and the verdict during an educational trip to the courthouse on Wednesday. Courtesy of CARL HESSLER Jr., The Times Herald.
