Man to stand trial in fatal ATV crash
Police say Collegeville driver was drunk and had no license when he crashed ATV, killing Trappe woman, 21
A Collegeville man has been ordered to stand trial for homicide by vehicle and DUI in connection with a Christmas Eve crash that claimed the life of a 21-year-old woman.
At a preliminary hearing Monday, District Court Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr. held charges against Steven E. Gismonde Jr., 32, of South Lewis Road, in Collegeville, for homicide by vehicle while DUI and other charges in the death of 21-year-old Sydney Hunter Stone of Trappe.
Gismonde is scheduled to appear before the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Norristown on April 26 at 9:30 a.m. Gadzicki modified bail to $75,000 cash from the $100,000 originally set.
According to police, at 2:35 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2016, Upper Providence Township Police responded to a crash at the intersection of Ridge Pike andGreenwood Avenue involving a Suzuki ATV and a Honda Civic. A joint investigation of the crash by Upper Providence Township Police andMontgomery County Detectives determined that the ATV allegedly operated by Gismonde was driving southbound on Greenwood Avenue approaching Ridge Pike when the defendant failed to stop for the posted stop sign and entered the westbound travel lane on Ridge Pike. Gismonde’s ATV hit the front passenger side of the Honda and the impact caused the ATV to ride up onto the hood of the Honda, ejecting Gismonde and Stone from the ATV. Stone was transported to PottstownMemorial Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Gismonde was transported to Paoli Hospital for treatment of his injuries. He used a walker and had a leg wrapped in a cast at Monday’s hearing.
A toxicology report on Gismonde’s blood revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.135 percent. The limit in Pennsylvania to be considered under the influence is 0.08 percent. Additionally, Gismonde is not licensed to operate a motor vehicle in the state of Pennsylvania and has a suspended driver’s license in the state of New Jersey.
At the hearing Monday, Jayme Earhart, the driver of the Honda, told Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Meghan B. Carney in her testimony that she remembered seeing the victim’s Ugg boots and jeans wrapped around the driver of the ATV as the vehicle came crashing onto her car. Stone was found at the scene wearing only one of the boots. The other had fallen off.
During the cross examination, defense attorney Carrie Allman asked Earhart if she remembered seeing the ATV enter the intersection. Earhart said she couldn’t remember because she hit her head and said yes when asked if the accident happened quickly and if it was dark and not well lit. She could remember the ATV as it was landing on the car.
Earhart said she suffered head, neck and right eye issues from the accident, she said.
Upper Providence Town- ship Police Sergeant Daniel Mulligan, the department’s crash investigator, testified that during a conversation with Ryan Kelleher, a friend of Gismonde and Stone, he learned that the trio had been celebrating Kelleher’s birthday at Gismonde’s house and had been drinking alcohol casually through the afternoon starting at around 3 p.m. At the same time, Gismonde had been giving ATV rides from his house. Both Stone and Earhart’s blood-alcohol content was 0.0 when tested.
Mulligan further stated there was no attemptmade to stop the ATV at the crash site as no tire marks were found. In addition, based on where Gismonde and Stone were found lying in the street, the trajectory showed he had likely been driving.
Allman said while the incident was “a terrible tragedy” there wasn’t enough proof to show Gismonde was driving. She said even though Gismonde had been driving the ATV earlier that day that’s not enough of a basis to prove he was driving at the time of the crash.
“Accidents happen without alcohol,” she said.
Carney said Earhart’s testimony about seeing Ugg boots wrapped around the person in the front of the ATV plus Mulligan’s testimony about the trajectory was proof enough that Gismonde was driving. She agreed that while accidents do happen, Gismonde’s blood-alcohol content was 0.135 impairing his decision process.
Gismonde was arrested on Feb. 8 and charged with felony homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle and accidents involving death or personal injury without a license, as well as other misdemeanors and related charges.