Police Release Details of Fatal Franconia Crash that Led to Homicide by Vehicle Charges for Hatfield Man

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

Left: an image of the crash scene. Right: Logan Dierkes, 20, of Hatfield.

A Hatfield Township man has been arraigned on charges of homicide by vehicle while DUI and related offenses stemming from a fatal September crash in Franconia Township that killed 72-year-old Paula Ann Wilson, of Bethlehem.

Logan Dierkes, 20, of the 1200 block of Alexander Drive, was arraigned Thursday afternoon on felony charges of homicide by vehicle while DUI and homicide by vehicle, as well as misdemeanor counts of DUI: controlled substance and reckless endangerment, and summary counts of reckless driving and exceeding maximum speed limit by 55 miles per hour. He is currently free on $99,000 unsecured bail

with a condition that his driving is restricted to transportation to work.

Court records show charges were filed against Dierkes on Nov. 1, and he turned himself in on Thursday.

Crews were initially dispatched to the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on Mininger Road near the intersection with Milburn Court on Sept. 14 at 5:43 p.m. for a report of a multi-vehicle crash with injuries and entrapment. Arriving police located two vehicles — a Ford Explorer, driven by Wilson, and a Dodge Charger, driven by Dierkes — with heavy damage in the roadway.

Citing witness accounts, police said the Dodge was traveling westbound on Mininger Road at a high rate of speed when it struck the Ford, which was exiting a residential driveway. The force of the crash caused the Ford to rollover before coming to rest upright on the side of the road, police said.

Police said Wilson was briefly trapped in the wreckage before being rescued by first responders. She was subsequently transported from the scene via ambulance to Grand View Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m.

An autopsy performed on Wilson several days later determined her cause of death to be blunt injuries, and her manner of death to be accidental, officials said.

A 7-year-old female passenger inside of the Ford, who was freed from the vehicle by bystanders, was also transported via ambulance to Grand View Hospital for observation. The girl’s injuries were described in the criminal complaint at "visible scrapes and bruises.”

A small fire ignited in the Dodge following the crash, however it was quickly extinguished by first responders. Dierkes was able to get out of his vehicle on his own and was transported to Grand View Hospital for treatment of a bleeding head wound and other injuries.

A joint investigation between Franconia Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau revealed that Dierkes was traveling at such a high rate of speed that the Explorer was found more than 100 feet from the point of impact, police said. Using crash scene reconstruction and surveillance footage of Dierkes traveling on Mininger Road prior to the crash, one estimate showed Dierkes was traveling between 84 and 96 miles per hour, while a known-distance estimate based of the framerate of surveillance footage showed Dierkes speed to be between 90 and 97 miles per hour, according to charging documents.

Mininger Road has a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour between Elroy and Cowpath roads, which includes the site of the crash.

A blood sample obtained from Dierkes revealed he had used marijuana within three hours of the crash, and Dierkes allegedly told investigators that he smokes marijuana on a regular basis, police said. Additionally, a post-crash inspection of Dierkes vehicle concluded that there were no mechanical issues that contributed to the crash, though it did note there was an aftermarket steering wheel and the airbags had been disconnected.

"Your affiants affirm that Logan Dierkes operated this vehicle in a reckless manner causing the fatal crash,” reads a portion of the criminal complaint. "Your affiants further affirm that Logan Dierkes operated his vehicle while under the influence of and impaired by marijuana at the time of the crash and that impairment contributed to the crash.”

If convicted of homicide by vehicle while DUI, Dierkes would face a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years in prison, along with a fine of up to $25,000.

"Our sympathies go out the family and friends of Paula Wilson, a grandma who was tragically killed doing something as ordinary as pulling out of a residential driveway. Thankfully, her 7-year-old granddaughter survived,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. "This fatal crash was caused by the defendant’s recklessness—driving 50 miles per hour over the speed limit while under the influence of marijuana. We will seek to hold him accountable for his actions.”

The case is being prosecuted by Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann Jr., and Dierkes is being represented by William E. Moore Esq. from the Colmar-based Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford law firm.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 14 at 9:45 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Albert Augustine.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using information provided by the Transportation Safety Administration.