A Montgomery County man is facing charges in connection with the death of a 7-year-old girl who was killed after falling off the back of a pickup truck last month in Plymouth Township.
Andres Marin, 48, of Plymouth Meeting, was charged on Tuesday with felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, and related offenses, in connection with the Aug. 22 incident. He is currently free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Investigators said the girl and four other children — ages 6 to 11 — were riding their bikes and scooters outside when they asked their neighbor, identified as Marin, for a ride in the back of his 1996 Subaru Sambar truck. Police said Marin had previously taken neighborhood children for rides in the back of the truck and allowed the five children to get into the bed.
According to the criminal complaint, Marin was driving around the neighborhood and the children were moving around in the truck bed when the girl leaned over the 11.5-inch sidewall, fell, and then struck her head on the pavement. The girl was then run over by the truck, police said.
Marin then picked up the girl, drove to her parents’ house, then drove the girl and her father to the hospital, where they arrived at 8:14 p.m., investigators said. The 7-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:43 p.m., and an autopsy later determined her cause of death to be blunt impact injuries and her manner of death was listed as homicide, according to officials.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of this little girl, who died due to the defendant’s complete disregard of the danger in allowing young children to ride in the open bed of a pick-up truck, especially a truck with such low sidewalls. Four other children and their families are also greatly impacted by their friend’s death, and we feel for them as well,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “This activity by the defendant was illegal, it was dangerous, and he should have known that it was just a matter of time until one of these ‘fun’ rides ended tragically.”
Marin turned himself in on Tuesday, according to the district attorney’s office. He’s also charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, five counts of reckless endangerment, five counts of passengers in an open truck, and careless driving. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Jodi Lukens Griffis.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using police reports, court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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