A Maryland man is headed to state prison for his role in the August 2022 fatal crash in Lower Providence that killed 31-year-old Kellie Adams and her unborn daughter, Emersyn Grace.
Patrick Doran, 24, of Gaithersburg, was sentenced on Monday to 3½ to 7 years in state prison after entering an open guilty plea in June to one felony count of homicide by vehicle, according to a report by Carl Hessler Jr. at the Reporter. The sentence is the maximum allowable under state law for the charge of homicide by vehicle, according to the report.
“This truck should not have been on the road. It was unsafe,” said Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Risa Ferman, in Hessler’s report. “The defendant’s actions represent an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Adams, a 2009 North Penn High School grad who was 8 months pregnant at the time of the crash, was the daughter of longtime Lansdale Borough Police Sergeant and former Towamencin Fire Chief Dean Miller. She was working as a teacher at the Cottage Seven Academy in Phoenixville at the time of her death, according to the report.
“Kellie’s selflessness was boundless, touching countless lives. Her absence leaves a void that ripples through our community, impacting those she supported, taught, coached, cared for and loved without limits,” said Miller, according to Hessler’s report. “Our family’s bonds have been severed, replaced by a new reality we never asked for. The foundation of our family has crumbled under the weight of this tragedy.”
Doran, who is an Irish national, will face deportation following the completion of his sentence, according to the report. Hessler’s report states Doran appeared to wipe away tears at times as Adams’ family members testified at the sentencing hearing.
“I’m deeply, deeply sorry. I really, really, really am sorry that this ever happened. My heart goes out to you every day. I’m very remorseful,” Doran said, via the Reporter.
Patrick Hadley Doran, 24, the owner of a dump truck involved in Aug. 25, 2022, head-on crash that killed 31 yo Kellie Adams, of Lansdale, Pa. & her unborn baby Emersyn Grace Adams is escorted from #MontcoPa courtroom after he was sentenced to 3½ to 7 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/1YIW3JEPF4
— Carl Hessler Jr. (@MontcoCourtNews) August 28, 2023
First responders were dispatched to the scene for a report of a two-vehicle crash. Arriving police found a head-on crash had occurred between a 2021 Chevy Tahoe, driven by Adams, and a 2003 Ford F650 XLT Super Duty dump truck, driven by 56-year-old Everett Clayton, of Charleston, W. Va.
Clayton, who was uninjured, allegedly confessed he had been drinking beer, and blood testing later showed he had a blood-alcohol content of .076% — just under the legal limit of .08%, investigators said.
According to the criminal complaint, crash scene investigators determined Clayton was traveling in excess of the speed limit as he approached a curve in the road, causing him to lose control and cross over the double-yellow lines. The dump truck collided with the Tahoe with such force that the Tahoe lost all forward momentum and the dump-body portion of the truck detached and fell off, police said.
Adams was pronounced dead at the scene. Her unborn daughter was delivered stillborn following the crash.
Clayton was initially charged in October 2022 with homicide by vehicle along with additional charges of careless driving/unintentional death, reckless driving, driving at unsafe speed and related offenses. However, the charges were upgraded to third-degree murder of Adams and third-degree murder of an unborn child after investigators alleged that Clayton “exhibited sustained recklessness over a period of time leading up to the fatal crash,” which meets the standards for third-degree murder charges.
Investigators said Doran had purchased the vehicle on July 6, 2022, under a fake name and never had the vehicle registered, inspected, or insured as required by state law. Additionally, the truck was being operated by “Stellar Paving and Drainage” with a listed address as 1960 Butler Pike in Conshohocken, which turned out to be a PO Box at a UPS store that was also rented by Doran under the same fake name, according to charging documents.
Doran was also initially charged in October 2022 with homicide by vehicle, along with additional charges of permitting violation of title, operating vehicle without required financial responsibility, operating vehicle without valid inspection, and multiple other offenses. Doran was located in February in Fairfax County, Va., and was extradited to Montgomery County on charges of homicide by vehicle and related offenses.
Court records show Clayton is awaiting trial in October on the existing charges.
See also:
Owner of Dump Truck That Killed Pregnant Lansdale Woman Pleads Guilty to Homicide by Vehicle
Dump Truck Owner Located, Arrested in Connection with Crash that Killed Pregnant Lansdale Woman
Murder Charges Filed Against Dump Truck Driver in Death of Pregnant Lansdale Woman
Dump Truck Driver, Owner Charged in Death of Pregnant Lansdale Woman
Lansdale Woman ID’d as Victim of Fatal Crash in Lower Providence
