BUCKS COUNTY WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FATAL DUI CRASH

Authorities say that it was not alcohol, but amphetamines that played a significant role in an accident last fall that claimed the life of an elderly woman in a tragic two-vehicle accident. Investigators say that a 36-year-old woman from Quakertown, Pennsylvania, was under the influence of drugs when her car smashed into a car driven by the victim around 7:00 p.m. on the night of Nov. 21, 2014.

The fatal accident occurred in Horsham, Pennsylvania, near the intersection of Easton Road and County Line Road. News reports say that the 71-year-old victim, formally of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was near that intersection along with four other passengers in her Nissan Rogue just prior to the accident. Investigators believe that the traffic signal had been red for seven seconds when the defendant’s car ran that light in her Jeep Wrangler and impacted the victim’s vehicle.

First responders pronounced the elderly driver dead on the scene. The four passengers that were in the victim’s vehicle were listed as injured by the crash, although the extent of their injuries is unknown.

The driver of the Jeep Wrangler has since pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, DUI, four counts of recklessly endangering another person and failure to stop at a red light. The defendant is currently awaiting sentencing while out on bail.

Pennsylvania motorists who are injured due to the criminal or negligent actions of another are entitled to seek compensation through civil litigation. Typically, a victim’s attorney will file a lawsuit on his or her behalf seeking to recover medical expenses caused by the crash. These types of lawsuits also usually include claims for wages that victims may have lost the opportunity to earn as a result of their injuries. Additionally, the surviving family members of a victim can also file similar claims in cases where the victim has been killed by a negligent driver.

Source: CBS Philly-3, “Guilty Plea in DUI Crash That Killed Elderly Bucks County Woman Last November,” Jim Melwert, April. 22, 2015