2 charged in fatal crash
Men were racing when they caused crash that killed 2 people, including a pregnant woman
NORRISTOWN >> Two men who allegedly spent a night racing their cars at high speeds on two Pottstown-area highways face murder-related charges for causing a crash on Route 422 that left two passengers of one of the cars, including a pregnant woman, dead.
Shone G. Santiago, 22, of New York, N.Y., was arraigned Thursday before District Court Judge Edward Kropp Jr. of Lower Pottsgrove, on two counts of thirddegree murder, one count of third-degree murder of an unborn child as well as charges of homicide by vehicle, recklessly endangering other persons, and driving under the influence of marijuana in connection with the 12:02 a.m. Feb. 4, 2017, crash on eastbound Route 422 in West Pottsgrove.
Santiago, who also faces summary offenses including careless and reckless driving, speeding and racing on highways, was remanded to the county jail to await further court action.
The second alleged driver, Evaughn-Sha Antonio Walters, 21, of Washington, D.C., faces the murder-related charges as well as a charge of unsworn falsification to authorities and is still wanted by police. Walters is known to drive a white Toyota Camry with a gold hood, roof and rims with a District of Columbia license plate, authorities said.
Investigators said anyone with information about Walters’ whereabouts should call the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-2783368.
Killed in the crash were Anthony Rodriguez, 23, of East Elmhurst, N.Y., and Marissa Christina Kelly, 20 of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, who were passengers in Santiago’s white BMW sedan. Kelly also was pregnant, authorities said.
County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele conceded a murder charge is not the typical charge filed in cases of vehicular homicide.
“But the sheer indifference to the value of human life and the recklessness displayed by these defendants rose to that level,” Steele said. “The sustained recklessness of racing more than 100 mph an hour before the crash on a different roadway and then again on Route 422 rises to the level of malice and to third-degree murder.
“Two people and an unborn child have died at the hands of these drivers,” Steele alleged.
The investigation determined Santiago and Walters, an hour before the fatal Route 422 crash, engaged in a race on Route 100. Detectives downloaded a video of the earlier race from Walters’ cellphone, a video allegedly recorded by Walters as he was racing Santiago.
“During the video, the speedometer in Walters’ Toyota is visible and, at one point, indicated a speed of 140 mph,” Steele alleged.
Investigators determined Walters and Santiago knew each other by attending UTI technical school in Exton.
The investigation began when West Pottsgrove police responded to the eastbound lanes of Route 422 near the Stowe exit for a report of a one-vehicle crash involving a white 2007 BMW that left the roadway, crashed through a guard rail and careened 200 feet down an embankment and into a ravine. Santiago, the driver, and passengers Rodriguez and Kelly were trapped inside the overturned vehicle, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective David Schanes.
Rodriguez, the front right seat passenger, and Kelly, the rear left seat passenger, were declared dead at the scene.
Santiago was transported by medical helicopter to Reading Hospital Trauma Center in West
Reading with multiple injuries.
An autopsy determined Rodriguez and Kelly suffered blunt force head injuries. Doctors also determined Kelly was 15 weeks pregnant.
Detectives alleged Santiago’s car was traveling at a minimum speed of 121 mph just before the crash.
The crash occurred near a construction area and the posted speed limit is 40 mph and the area is marked by construction zone warning signs, authorities said.
Investigators determined Walters, driving a 2007 Toyota Camry, called 911 and told dispatchers he witnessed a car “run off the road.”
In his initial statement to detectives Walters claimed that Santiago and he were traveling at a slow speed at the eastbound entrance to the Route 422 bypass in Douglassville, Berks County, when a black Dodge Challenger with a Delaware license plate pulled up beside Santiago and then both cars “took off just flying.” Walters claimed he eventually came upon the damaged guard rail, stopped his car and saw Santiago’s car in the ravine upside down.
Walters initially claimed the black Dodge Challenger also stopped at the scene but then fled.
Based on Walters’ descriptions authorities initially were searching for a black Dodge Challenger having a Delaware license plate, dark tinted windows, bright headlights and yellow fog lights.
However, detectives downloaded a video from Walters’ cellphone depicting an earlier race in the southbound lanes of Route 100 near Shoemaker Road and determined the cars involved where operated by Santiago and Walters, who was filming the race as he drove. The video recorded the speedometer of Walters’ vehicle at 140 mph during the earlier race, court papers indicate.
During a subsequent March 1 interview Walters then admitted to racing Santiago on Route 100 and later on Route 422 and to lying about a black Dodge being part of the Route 422 race, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Walters stated that Santiago asked him if he wanted to do another pull, meaning race. Walters replied, ‘not really.’ Walters said that they ended up racing anyway,” Schanes wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Walters, who admitted to traveling between 80and 100-mph during the race, claimed he was behind Santiago’s car when he observed Santiago lose control of his car on a curve, crash through the guard rail and careen into the ravine.