Man dead after crashing into tree in Lehigh County

A man was killed in a crash Tuesday afternoon in Lehigh County.

Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said in a news release that Christopher M. Baines, 58, died in a crash in the 8000 block of Holbens Valley Road in Weisenberg Township.

Baines, of Weisenberg Township, was the driver of a vehicle that left the road and hit a tree about 1:10 p.m.

He was pronounced dead at the scene about 2 p.m. Buglio ruled the manner of death accidental.

The cause of death was multiple blunt-force injuries caused by the crash, Buglio said.

State police are investigating the crash.

Lehigh County driver sentenced for fatal Berks crash

A Lehigh County woman will spend up to six years in prison for causing a fatal crash while driving drunk in 2021 in Hereford Township.

Wendalyn Kutz, 55, of Zionsville pleaded guilty in November in Berks County Court to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and aggravated assault by vehicle in the crash.

On Tuesday, she was sentenced by Judge James M. Lillis to three to six years in prison.

The sentence matches the one included in Kutz’s negotiated plea agreement with prosecutors. Lillis was not bound by that deal.

Russell Badman, 33, of Herford Township, was killed in the crash. According to troopers:

Kutz was driving southbound about 3:50 p.m. Oct. 15, 2021, when she lost control on a curve, entered the northbound lane and hit Badman’s oncoming car.

When state police arrived, Badman was pronounced dead.

Kutz was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment. That evening at the hospital, she admitted to police that she had consumed alcohol and taken a Xanax before getting behind the wheel.

She had a blood-alcohol content of 0.139%, more than 1 times the legal limit for driving.

A witness told state police that she saw Kutz speeding on Gravel Pike when her minivan suddenly crossed the center line and veered