DA to Announce Charges in Fatal Crash
Prosecutors and police said they will announce charges against a driver in the crash that killed a 9-year-old girl last month on the Rt. 611 Bypass in Doylestown.
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Drew Bodden will be charged in connection with the Thanksgiving Eve crash that killed a 9-year-old Plumstead girl, officials said Wednesday.
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said prosecutors and police will hold a press conference to announce those charges on Thursday.
The announcement will take place at the Doylestown Township Police Department on Wells Road at 11 a.m., Heckler said in a statement.
Sources close to the investigation said Bodden, 37, is expected to turn himself in to Doylestown Township police by Thursday.
Court papers had not yet been filed by early Wednesday afternoon, so it was not clear exactly what charges the driver faces.
Bodden, of Plumstead, was driving a Ford Mustang north on the Rt. 611 bypass on the night before Thanksgiving. At about 6:45 p.m., officials said, he smashed into the back of a Honda CRV, forcing it off the road.
Holly Huynh, 9, was a passenger in the Honda. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Holly's grandmother, Suzanne Berry, was driving the Honda. She was resuscitated at the scene and airlifted to Temple University Hospital in "extremely critical" condition.
Berry, 55, also of Plumstead, hovered in critical condition for days. On Wednesday, three weeks after the crash, Berry still was hospitalized but hospital spokesman Jeremy Walter said she is now in fair condition.
Holly was laid to rest on Nov. 28 in Doylestown Cemetery.
After the crash, Bodden and his female passenger, Christine Mokrynchuk, 43, were taken to Abington Memorial Hospital for treatment for serious, but not life-threatening, leg injuries.
The crash scene quickly became a crime scene.
Bucks County detectives and prosecutors from the District Attorney's homicide by vehicle division spent hours that night and Thanksgiving morning collecting evidence and documenting the expansive scene in photos and video, in advance of what were expected to be criminal charges against the Mustang driver.
The wreckage from the crash stretched hundreds of yards along the Bypass, near the Broad Street exit.
"The Mustang is smashed square across the front, and the Honda is dramatically crushed from the rear," Heckler said on Thanksgiving. "It suggests that the Mustang hit the Honda at a high rate of speed."
A respected Bucks County crash scene investigator, Langhorne Borough Police Chief Steve Mawhinney, led the reconstruction and investigation into the crash. Assistant District Attorney Robert James, head of the homicide by vehicle division, is directing the investigation for Heckler's office.
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Dtown Resident
1:22 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Good.
Finn
5:19 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
There is a God!
Jane
9:10 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Is there? I would have rather such a being showed its ostensible omnipotence by preventing a family's daughter from being killed. Sounds like this is more proof of County law enforcement doing its job and less a sign of too-little-too-late divine intervention.
rac78
9:27 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
JANE..................God did not take Holly or cause the horrific events of that night! Death took Holly and God saved her and will save this family! Drew Bodden chose to drive recklessly and think of only himself. I personally know the family and they are the greatest people I know. This has only strengthen their faith in God. Trust me when I say, the punishment that Drew Bodden gets from our legal system is NOTHING compared to the punishment he will receive from God if he doesn't repent. Another thing, it is only by the GRACE of GOD that Mrs. Berry is stil alive!
Jane
9:40 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
As a parent who lost a child, albeit in a very different way, it's my view that God neither gave nor took my child, that there is no rainbow on which she looks down on us. For those who do believe, if Holly's family does, I hope that gives them peace. I know too well we need whatever peace we can find.
Compassionate Friends is a great resource and support for grieving parents, that lets you rely on the idea of a God, or not, according to your family's needs. I go with not, as a God either too uninterested or too powerless to save kids is not a being I'd worship! If the family has not been led to this amazing group, please be kind enough to pass them on. They were very helpful to my family after our child loss.
Finn
9:50 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Jane......I am very sorry.
Jane
9:58 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Finn - thank you for the kind words.
And I share your appreciation that justice is being sought for Holly. This was a horrible tragedy and there needs to be accountability. Those words - 'justice' and 'accountability' - don't even go nearly far enough.
Finn
10:07 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Dear Jane,
My God comment was really just relief that there will be justice for Holly. I was afraid, after 3 weeks, that this story just went away, never to be heard about again. I understand your feelings about God preventing such a horror. I get that too. You have my utmost respect and sympathy.
Jane
10:12 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Finn - I took your comment a little tonelessly on my end and I apologize. In retrospect, you were using a pretty common phrase! And I agree with you, I too was afraid that this would slip off the radar. It, along with the loss of a friend in another recent Bucks County crash, has made me so much more aware of road safety - both my own driving and others'. Our DA and other law enforcement folks keeping this in the news and keeping accountability, hopefully continues to make folks mindful when behind the wheel. Maybe then another family is less likely to lose a son or daughter, parent, friend, grandparent, etc. It's been nice to chat with you about this (though such a sad subject). So often these comment threads go in a very irate direction (and my initial comment may have pointed that way). We all want the same thing in the end, I think - compassion for this family, preventing another tragedy again. Have a nice day.
Bobz
11:47 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Just heard on the news, NBC10, Doylelstown/Bucks County legal authorities estimated Bodden was driving approximately 140+ MPH when he collided with Berry's vehicle so he is being charged with 3rd degree murder in this accident/death of 10 yr. old Holly Huynh. No wonder 55 mph seems like a stopped vehicle by comparison. No excuse in this situation for driving over 2X the legal speed limit on a crowded highway, talk about a criminally reckless disregard for the safety of others...
KathyC
12:13 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Just DISGUSTING!
Mar
1:14 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
If anyone deserves to have the book thrown at him, it's this guy. Apparently he has a history of wreckless driving and inappropriate speeding. Nothing stopped him before. Maybe a nice cozy jail cell will now. And that is even too good for him. What a despicible, horrible act. My heart goes out to the family of beautiful, innocent Holly Huynh. May God bless you and give you peace.
Mary191
11:04 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
in this situation.... will the justice system work????????
P. A. M.
11:26 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Jane, sorry for your loss, and thank you for offering another viewpoint. One which I share.