PITTSBURGH – Two men accused of racing on a public road in western Pennsylvania face charges in a crash involving a school van that left a teenage girl dead.
The accident also sent three other minors and two seriously injured adults, including one of the accused, to hospitals.
Allegheny County police said the Serra Catholic High School van was trying to turn left when it was struck by a northbound sedan on Sept. 20 in Dravosburg.
The medical examiner’s office said Samantha Lee Kalkbrenner, 15, died at the scene.
Authorities said three of the four students riding in the van, including Kalkbrenner, were ejected and the driver of the van was also seriously injured.
William Soliday II, 43, of Irwin, whose car crashed into the SUV, is charged with criminal homicide, vehicular homicide and multiple counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, authorities said.
Andrew Voigt, 37, of Pittsburgh, whose vehicle entered the intersection moments after the crash, is charged with accidents involving death or injury and reckless endangerment, authorities said.
Both men, who worked at the same nearby location, are accused of road racing.
Andrew Voight (left) and William Soliday II have been charged in connection with a crash involving a school van that left a student dead. Samantha Lee Kalkbrenner, 15, died in the September crash in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania. GoFundMe
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said authorities believe the two drivers were racing and that the vehicle had become “a deadly weapon.”
Investigators said the first car is believed to have been traveling more than 100 mph just before the crash and the second vehicle was about two seconds behind.
Soliday’s attorney, Casey White, told reporters that his client suffered a head injury and does not remember the accident or even leaving the house that day.
The two men were apparently traveling on the highway at the time of the accident. WTAE The accident sent three other minors and two adults to the hospital. WTAE
He said the crash was an accident and there was no malicious intent on his client’s part, and that “words cannot describe the remorse he and his family feel.”
“It was a very shocking situation,” Voigt’s attorney, David Shrager, told WPXI-TV, adding how many “have been through terrible accidents and haven’t stopped.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn