Truck owner in crash arrested

Charged with offenses in death of Lansdale woman, unborn baby

>> Authorities have apprehended the owner of a dump truck who is charged in connection with a two-vehicle crash in Lower Providence that claimed the life of the second driver, a pregnant Lansdale woman.

Patrick Hadley Doran, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md., was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Fairfax, Va., and his apprehension was announced on Friday by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Lower Providence Police Chief Michael Jackson.

A warrant for Doran’s arrest had been issued on Oct. 29, 2022, and authorities had been searching for him since that time.

Doran will be extradited to Montgomery County to face a preliminary hearing on charges of homicide by vehicle, permitting the operation of a vehicle without the proper financial responsibility and numerous other summary offenses related to violations of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code in connection with the Aug. 25, 2022, head-on crash in the 500 block of South Park Avenue that killed 31-year-old Kellie Adams, of Lansdale, and her unborn baby Emersyn Grace Adams.

“The defendant knew that this dump truck was not properly inspected, licensed or road-worthy, yet he recklessly put that dump truck on the road where it was turned into a lethal weapon, killing a young, pregnant mother and her unborn baby,” Steele said on Friday.

“The deaths of this beloved wife and mother and her baby have caused overwhelming heartache for the family and the community. Our team will continue to work to seek justice for the taking of these innocent lives,” Steele added.

Adams, a mother of two boys, was a 2009 graduate of North Penn High School and was a middle and high school teacher at Cottage Seven Academy in Phoenixville, according to her obituary.

The driver of the dump truck, Everett James Clayton, 56, of Charleston, W. Va., was arrested in October and is currently awaiting trial on charges of thirddegree murder, third-degree murder of an unborn child, homicide by vehicle, careless and reckless driving and speeding in connection with the fatal crash.

With the charges against Clayton, detectives, in the criminal complaint, alleged he operated the Ford F650 XLT Super Duty dump truck with “extreme recklessness and carelessness at a speed in excess that he failed to maintain control of his vehicle.” Clayton failed to enter into a curve at a speed which would have permitted him to maintain control of the vehicle, Lower Providence Police Sergeant Ryan Singleton alleged in the criminal complaint.

“Clayton’s reckless and careless operation caused him to cross the center of the roadway and enter into the opposite lane of travel,” Singleton alleged.

With the charges against Doran, detectives alleged he permitted an unsafe vehicle to be operated on the road and that had he followed the regulations of Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Code as well as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and ensured that Clayton was fit to drive, “this crash could have been avoided.”

The investigation began about 2:59 p.m. Aug 25, when Lower Providence police responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash with entrapment in the 500 block of South Park Avenue in the Audubon section of the township.

Arriving officers determined the crash involved the 2003 dump truck operated by Clayton, who was not injured, and a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe operated by Adams, who was trapped in her vehicle. Adams, who was eight months pregnant at the time of the crash, died at the scene and her baby was later stillborn, according to court documents.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt impact injuries to both Adams and her unborn child.

Lower Providence police crash reconstruction experts determined Clayton was traveling southbound on South Park Avenue and Adams was traveling northbound at the time of the crash.

The two-lane roadway includes a double yellow painted line in the center dividing the northbound and southbound lanes and also includes a grooved pavement that alerts drivers if they begin to move from the lane, according to court papers.

The roadway has a posted 40 mph speed limit and vehicles approaching a curve in the southbound direction pass a posted traffic control warning indicator advising of the curve with a recommended speed of 25 mph, according to the arrest affidavit.

Clayton’s southbound truck was traveling through the curve in the roadway, was unable to maintain his lane of travel and crossed the double yellow line, entered the northbound lanes and struck Adams’s vehicle head-on, police alleged.

“Investigators determined this was caused by the size of the Clayton vehicle traveling at a speed too great for the curve radius,” Singleton alleged. “This impact was of such a violent nature that it stopped all forward momentum of the Adams vehicle and displaced it fully off the roadway into a field.”

The dump truck portion of Clayton’s vehicle fully separated from the vehicle’s chassis as the vehicle rolled driver’s side over passenger’s side and went off the roadway, police said.

The investigation determined the dump truck’s registration had expired in June 2022. Investigators also determined the registration was issued to a Philadelphia concrete company whose owner subsequently advised police that he had sold the truck to another man in July 2022, according to the arrest affidavit. Investigators alleged Doran used an alias to purchase the truck and failed to legally transfer the vehicle ownership and properly register the vehicle into his name or his company’s name.

The investigation revealed the dump truck did not have a current Pennsylvania inspection and the vehicle displayed an expired 2019 New Jersey state inspection sticker, according to court papers.

Clayton, investigators alleged, was unable to provide law enforcement with proper proof of financial responsibility for the vehicle at the scene of the crash.

During an interview by police, Clayton allegedly advised that he had consumed an alcoholic beverage at lunch and an additional alcoholic beverage about 30 minutes before the crash and maintained he was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. Officers at the scene observed Clayton holding a plastic bag containing additional containers of beer, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators said tests later determined Clayton had a blood alcohol level of 0.076 percent, which is just below 0.08 percent, the legal limit for driving. Clayton is not charged with DUI.

However, authorities alleged that being in possession of and under the influence of any detectable amount of intoxicating beverage “would have placed him out of service,” under federal motor carrier regulations.

Clayton, according to court papers, told investigators he was working for a paving and asphalt company, that he was the foreman and that it was his job to drive the truck to the job site.

Clayton allegedly claimed he was driving about 40 mph and came around the curve, saw Adams’s Tahoe in the northbound lane and then took his foot off the gas and cut the wheel to the right and the impact occurred.

Clayton told investigators he didn’t have any knowledge about when the vehicle had been last inspected and that he wasn’t aware of any mechanical issues with the truck, according to court papers. When asked about insurance Clayton allegedly stated that was handled by his boss, “Patrick.”

After a post-crash inspection of the truck, investigators concluded there were no mechanical problems or failures that could have contributed to the crash. However, authorities concluded the vehicle would not have passed Pennsylvania inspection requirements for several reasons, the most notable failure related to the difference in the diameter of both sets of rear dual tires which “could lead to lateral stability issues when rapid steering input is applied,” investigators alleged.

Investigators added the truck’s passenger side front brake had overspray from painting the wheels of the truck on the brake rotor, causing contamination that “would have placed the truck out of service,” z to the criminal complaint.

The violations discovered during the inspections are the responsibility of both the owner and operator, authorities alleged. The owner is required to ensure the vehicle is maintained and in compliance with all state and federal regulations, police said.

“Since this vehicle has a gross weight over 17,001 pounds the operator is required to ensure that the vehicle is inspected, has proper registration and insurance and is in safe operational condition prior to operating the vehicle on the roadway,” Singleton alleged.