Driver jailed in fatal crash
Berks man gets 2-5 years for death of his fiancee
A Washington Township man has been sentenced to two to five years in state prison after pleading guilty to a crash on Route 100 that killed his fiancee.
Shaun M. Kramer, 36, of the 2100 block of Weisstown Road, had earlier pleaded guilty in Berks County Court to charges of homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of a controlled substance or drug.
He was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Eleni Dimitriou Geishauser, and given credit for 140 days of time served. He was also ordered to pay
more than $120,000 in restitution.
The charges stemmed from a crash that killed Amber Frain, 32, on July 13, 2018.
Police said Kramer was under the influence of prescription drugs when his minivan slammed into a tractor-trailer parked legally along the northbound lanes of Route 100 just north of Limekiln Road in the township.
According to court documents:
A witness said Kramer’s minivan was weaving and drifted across the center line and struck the rig.
A witness said the minivan was traveling about 50 mph to 60 mph at the time. She checked on both occupants and saw neither was wearing a seat belt.
Kramer and Frain were trapped in the wreckage and freed by emergency crews.
Frain was taken to a hospital and died a week later.
Kramer was injured and required hospital treatment. The semi driver was not hurt.
Troopers ordered blood to be drawn from Kramer at the hospital. Results of those tests showed the presence of clonazepam and other drugs that belong to the class of benzodiazepines, also known as tranquilizers, and buprenorphine, which is prescribed to help people quit opioid drugs.
The drugs cause impairment, investigators said.
The restitution Kramer was ordered to pay includes:
• $109,000 to the Department of Human Services for the medical bills for Frain. The state paid the bill since she was on public assistance.
• $11,000 to the owner of the truck for wages the driver lost while he was without his truck.