Man faces jail for DUI crash in West Norriton
NORRISTOWN >> A former East Norriton man faces time behind bars for driving under the influence of drugs in connection with a crash into a tree in West Norriton.
Muhammad Waris Wasim, 20, formerly of the 3100 block of Hannah Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to eight days to one year in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with the Dec. 18, 2018, crash along Burnside Avenue in West Norriton.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, said Wasim can serve the minimum sentence on consecutive weekends beginning Sept. 13.
Wasim, most recently of the 1500 block of Essex Avenue, Narberth, also must complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for four years. The judge also imposed 60 hours of community service.
As a result of the conviction, Wasim faces a 12-month license suspension and he must undergo drug and alcohol evaluations and comply with all recommendations for treatment.
With the reckless endangerment charge, authorities alleged Wasim endangered three other occupants of the vehicle and children on a school bus which Wasim recklessly passed shortly before the crash.
The investigation began about 9 p.m. Dec. 18 when West Norriton police were dispatched to investigate a report of a one-vehicle crash, with a vehicle into a tree, in the 400 block of Burnside Avenue. Responding officers found a 2006 Nissan Maxima with four occupants, according to a criminal complaint.
A male passenger suffered facial injuries and a fractured foot and underwent surgeries at a local hospital after the crash, police said.
Wasim, the driver, told police he was traveling north on Burnside Avenue and was passing another vehicle when he observed a southbound vehicle traveling toward him and he attempted to quickly get back into his lane but lost control and struck the tree.
On the ground outside the driver’s side door police found a plastic container with marijuana inside, according to the arrest affidavit filed by West Norriton Police Officer David L. Kovaleski.
A subsequent blood test uncovered the active ingredients and metabolites of marijuana in Wasim’s bloodstream, according to the criminal complaint.
A school bus driver who witnessed the crash told investigators that he was traveling northbound on Burnside Avenue with 22 passengers when he observed the Maxima traveling a distance behind him cross the double yellow lines to pass northbound vehicles “at an excessive speed,” Kovaleski alleged.
The Maxima then entered the southbound lane again and traveled north to pass the school bus, police said. The driver of the bus then observed the Maxima try to pass another northbound vehicle and observed headlights from a vehicle traveling southbound toward the Maxima.
“He watched the Nissan cross over the northbound lane in front of the bus to avoid a head-on collision and then proceed off the road,” Kovaleski alleged.
Other charges of aggravated assault by a vehicle while DUI and aggravated assault by a vehicle were dismissed against Wasim as part of the plea agreement.