Testimony concludes in vehicular homicide trial
Jurors will begin deliberating the fate of a man who caused a two-vehicle crash that killed an elderly woman.
NORRISTOWN » The fate of a Horsham man accused of operating his vehicle in a reckless fashion by speeding and of being the primary cause of a two-vehicle crash in Upper Dublin that killed a Glenside woman is about to be in the hands of a jury.
A Montgomery County jury will begin deliberations on Wednesday at the trial of Erek Collier Cunningham, 49, of the 100 block of New Road, who faces charges of homicide by vehicle, exceeding maximum speed and reckless and careless driving in connection with the 8:44 a.m. May 10, 2017, two-vehicle crash on Twining Road, near Timber Lane, in Upper Dublin that claimed the life of Barbara Loeffler, 77, of Glenside.
The investigation by county detectives and Upper Dublin police determined that at the time of the collision Cunningham, operating a 2016 Toyota Tundra pickup truck, was traveling southbound on Twining Road, approaching the driveway entrance for an Acme shopping center, while Loeffler, operating a 2002 Honda Civic, was traveling northbound and attempting to turn left into the Acme entrance.
The jury of eight men and four women, after receiving legal instructions from Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, will have to decide if Cunningham’s speed was the direct, substantial cause of Loeffler’s death.
“The defendant operated his vehicle in a manner that was unreasonable,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg argued to jurors during his closing statement on Tuesday, pointing out that Cunningham’s vehicle was traveling 66 mph in an area posted 25 mph in the seconds leading up to the crash.
“The operation of a vehicle at this speed is like shooting a missile in a residential neighborhood. That’s reckless,” Brittenburg added.
Brittenburg, who argued Cunningham’s speed was the primary cause of the crash, maintained when Loeffler observed Cunningham’s vehicle her point of view was that it was “almost a football field away” and she had a reasonable belief she could safely make the turn.
But defense lawyer John I. McMahon Jr. characterized the crash as a tragic accident and argued Cunningham’s conduct was not the primary, legal cause of the fatal crash.
“The overriding cause of this accident was the driving conduct of Mrs. Loeffler. This dangerous, dangerous left hand turn was made by Mrs. Loeffler,” McMahon argued during his closing statement to jurors.
McMahon did not dispute that Cunningham was speeding, agreeing “he was driving too fast than he should have been.” But McMahon argued despite Cunningham’s speed, one cannot look at his conduct in a vacuum and disregard Loeffler’s driving actions, turning her vehicle in front of Cunningham’s oncoming vehicle.
“If she never turns, the crash would not have happened. If Mrs. Loeffler had never crossed his path, this crash would not have happened,” William Camlin, a collision reconstruction expert hired by the defense, testified on Tuesday, agreeing with McMahon that the “overriding cause” of the crash was Loeffler’s turn.
Camlin, who reviewed the investigative reports and visited the scene of the crash before rendering his expert opinion, testified there is no evidence Loeffler braked or hesitated before making the turn and he said there was nothing to impede her view of Cunningham’s oncoming pickup truck.
“There’s nothing blocking the visibility of the approaching vehicle. He was clearly visible,” Camlin testified.
McMahon suggested circumstantial evidence is strong that Loeffler never looked for oncoming traffic.
But Upper Dublin Police Officer Michael Ciuffetelli, the prosecution’s crash reconstruction expert, testified the investigation determined Cunningham’s speed was the primary factor in the crash.
Relying on information obtained from the Toyota’s event data recorder as well as time and distance analyses, investigators alleged Cunningham’s vehicle was traveling at 65 mph 4.6 seconds before deployment of the airbag and at 41 mph at the time of deployment, well over the posted speed limit.
Investigators said a time and distance analysis “revealed that had the Cunningham vehicle been traveling at any speed less than 51 miles per hour it would have been able to stop prior to the crash” and that the Loeffler vehicle “would have been able to complete the left turn safely.”
Cunningham and Loeffler were transported to Abington Hospital Jefferson Health for treatment. At 1:15 p.m. Loeffler was pronounced dead at the hospital. A subsequent autopsy determined Loeffler died of multiple injuries sustained in the crash.
Cunningham did not testify during the trial. However, two character witnesses testified Cunningham has a “good reputation” for being a law-abiding citizen.
A conviction of homicide by vehicle carries a possible maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison.
Under Pennsylvania law, a person commits vehicular homicide if they recklessly or with gross negligence cause the death of another person while violating a motor vehicle regulation.