Trucker charged in Route 309 crash that injured teen

A North Carolina trucker who had just left Interstate 78 was on his cellphone and had been driving too long when he ran a red light on Route 309 and crashed into a car driven by a teenage boy, the Lehigh County district attorney’s office said.

Larry Salmeron Acosta, 35, of Statesville, North Carolina, is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, a third-degree felony; a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person, and summary traffic offenses. Salmeron Acosta surrendered Monday and was released on bail, the district attorney’s office said. Court records do not show whether Salmeron Acosta has a lawyer.

Upper Saucon police were called about 10:44 p.m. May 13 for a crash at Route 309 and West Saucon Valley Road involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle driven by the teenager, who the district attorney’s office did not identify. The boy was found lying on the road near his heavily damaged vehicle, the district attorney’s office said.

According to the district attorney’s office:

Salmeron Acosta told police that as he exited I-78 and merged onto Route 309, he drove through a green light at West Saucon Valley Road and could not avoid the other vehicle. He told police that before the crash, he was using his cellphone with an earbud-style headphone.

During an investigation of the crash, the Lehigh County Crash Reconstruction Team determined that Salmeron Acosta failed to keep a driver log as he was required to do to show he was complying with maximum duty restrictions and mandatory rest requirements. Records from Salmeron Acosta’s cellphone and iPad showed that he had been driving for longer than federal guidelines allow and that he had been on his cellphone when he crashed.

Traffic cameras in the area show that Salmeron Acosta’s truck went through a red traffic signal just before the crash. The other driver suffered multiple rib fractures and two femur fractures that required surgery. — Peter Hall