Fundraiser Set for Family of Crash Victims

Friends are planning an event in May to raise money to support the Berry family after the devastating Rt. 611 Bypass crash.

Dale Homnick knows what happens to a family when a loved one sustains a traumatic brain injury. Recovery can be long, slow, frustrating - and expensive. So when he found out that the Berry family, with whom he had been friends for years, suddenly found themselves in the same situation, he knew he wanted to help. "It literally could have been anyone," Homnick said, of the Nov. 21 car crash on the Rt. 611 Bypass that killed 9-year-old Holly Huynh and left her grandmother, Suzanne Berry, fighting for her life. "Back in 2007, my brother was in an accident," he continued. "He had a head injury and I know it’s a long process. And even when there is insurance, it doesn't cover everything." So Homnick, who grew up with the Berrys' son, Ron, and …

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Murder Charge Held Against Driver in Fatal Crash

Drew Bodden will face trial in connection with the Nov. 21 high-speed car crash on the Rt. 611 Bypass that killed Holly Huynh.

A Plumstead man accused of causing the car crash that killed a 9-year-old Central Bucks student will face a third-degree murder charge when he goes on trial at the Bucks County courthouse in March. District Judge Mark Douple on Wednesday held over all 11 charges filed by the district attorney's office against Drew Bodden, 38. After hours of testimony from police officers, eyewitnesses, and crash reconstruction experts, Bodden's defense attorney, Colin Jenei, argued only against the third-degree murder charge.  Jenei told the judge that part of the criteria for murder in the third degree is to show a "wickedness of disposition and evil of heart," standards that he felt the testimony did not support. "The evidence shows acts comparable to a …

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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.

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…

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Crash Kills Doylestown-Area Man

A car crash in Buckingham on Friday killed a Doylestown man.

A car crash on Rt. 413 early Friday has killed a Doylestown man. Buckingham police are investigating the crash, which occured when a car struck a utility pole, according to a report on phillyburbs.com. Justin M. Pray, 28, of Sagewood Court, Doylestown, (Buckingham Township) was killed in the crash, according to police. Doylestown borough police, the Central Bucks Ambulance and the Midway Fire Co. assisted at the scene, according to phillyburbs.   UPDATE: A celebration of life service for Justin Pray will be held Thursday. Click here for more details.

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Foster Winans

3:25 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Friends of JUSTIN M. PRAY I'm sure I speak for Justin's family when I say how gratifying it was to see so many people turn out for the event at CB East. His mom and dad (Cathy and Andy) spoke, as did other members of the family. Kyle, his younger brother by about three years, told a couple of funny and spot-on anecdotes about Justin. Also speaking were his employer, and a very young couple who …   more ›

UPDATE: Crash now Criminal Investigation

A Bucks County reconstruction specialist is investigating whether speed was a factor in Wednesday night's fatal crash on the Rt. 611 Bypass in Doylestown.

The investigation into Wednesday's fatal crash on the Rt. 611 Bypass in Doylestown is now a criminal one. Investigators from the Bucks County District Attorney's office spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning at the crash scene. They are reconstructing events and documenting evidence in preparation for what is expected to be criminal charges against the driver of a Ford Mustang. The wreckage from the fatal crash remained strewn along the roadway for hundreds of yards. That, and the damage to sustained to both involved vehicles, led authorities to treat the crash scene as a crime scene. "The Mustang is smashed square across the front, and the Honda is dramatically crushed from the rear," District Attorney David Heckler said Thursday …

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Darrion

9:35 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Philly mom, got take a ride to the wreck site. The accident WAS in the left lane, at BROAD ST. If you're going to spew a rant, the least you can do is base it on REAL facts. If found guilty of vehicular homicide that carries a 4 year minimum prison term, is that a slap to you??   more ›

Hit-and-Run Driver Sentenced in Death of CB West Grad

A 75-year-old Gilberstville woman was sentenced to house arrest for the 2011 car crash that killed Kristy Bender.

Patricia Maurer, 75, who was found guilty of the 2011 hit-and-run death of 26-year-old Kristy Bender in June, was sentenced to seven years of court supervision, according to the Philadephia Inquirer. Judge Joseph A. Smyth sentenced Maurer to one year of house arrest, one of parole, and five years of non-reporting probation. She is also required to pay the cost of her four-day jury trial this past spring. The Bender family requested that Maurer, of New Hanover Square Road, not receive jail time. Smyth said that he thought not allowing her to drive a car was a "good, practical approach." "We are satisfied," Bender's mother, Kathy, told The Inquirer.  "We never wanted to see her spend time in jail, given her age and medical condition." Maurer…

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Doylestown Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash

The driver of a motorcycle that crashed Monday night on DeKalb Pike in Lower Gwynedd has been identified as a Doylestown man.

Lower Gwynedd Police have released the identification of a motorcyclist in a fatal accident on DeKalb Pike in Lower Gwynedd on Monday Night. The driver, identified as Charles Gale, 28, of Doylestown, was driving northbound on Route 202 when he collided with a 2005 Jeep Liberty, accoring to The Reporter. The Jeep was being driven by Leland Vollman, 58, of Jenkintown. According to the police, the accident still is under investigation. However, police said that the motorcycle collided with the Jeep while the Jeep was making a left turn out of the Church of the Messiah driveway. Police said Gale was wearing a helmet but was pronounced dead at the Lansdale Hospital from injuries sustained in the crash.

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Motorcyclist Killed Thursday in Crash Involving School Bus

Police are still investigating the crash on Limekiln Pike.

A bus on a Central Bucks School District route collided with a motorcycle Thursday afternoon in a crash on Limekiln Pike that killed the motorcyclist. Justin Landis, 27, of North Wales, was pronounced dead at the scene. None of the children on the bus were injured in the crash, school district spokeswoman Carol Counihan said Thursday. The crash occurred just after 3:30 p.m. on Limekiln Pike at the intersection with Belmont Drive, not far from Upper State Road in Warrington Township. Counihan said the bus was carrying students from St. Jude Catholic School, for which the district provides bussing. Limekiln Pike still was cordoned off at Upper State Road by a New Britain Township police car around 4:30 p.m. as police continued their …

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Doylestown Twp Man Guilty in Fatal Crash

William Bell now awaits sentencing.

A Doylestown Township man faces 3 to 6 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of causing a car crash last spring that killed a Bucks County woman. William J. Bell, 56, was found guilty of drinking and driving and causing the April 19 car crash that killed Barbara Brown, of East Rockhill. Bell was convicted of homicide by vehicle while drunk driving and several other related charges, according to court records. Bell, a former Philadelphia police officer, was a private investigator. After the jury found him guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 15, Bucks County Judge Jeffrey Finely increased his bail amount to $250,000. Family members posted the 10 percent required to keep him out of jail, according to court records. Bell now awaits sentencing.

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Crash in Buckingham Kills One

Buckingham Township police still are investigating the early morning crash.

A car crash in Buckingham Township killed one person early Friday morning. Buckingham police still are investigating the crash that claimed a life and shut down two busy area roads. The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. near the busy intersection of Routes 202 and 313. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. We will update this story as more information becomes available.