Photo by James Short.
A Hatfield Township man has been sentenced to jail time and probation in connection with last year’s fatal crash in Franconia Township that killed 72-year-old Paula Ann Wilson, of Bethlehem.
According to a report by Carl Hessler Jr. at The Reporter, 20-year-old Logan Dierkes pleaded guilty on Thursday to homicide by vehicle, DUI and reckless endangerment, stemming from the Sept. 14, 2023 crash. As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors, Judge Risa Vetri Ferman imposed a sentence of 11½ to 23 months in county jail, followed by three years’ probation, the report states.
Hessler’s report also indicates Dierkes will have his driver’s license suspended for four years, and he was also ordered to pay $51,070 in restitution to the victim’s family.
Logan Dierkes, 20, of Hatfield. (Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office)An emotional Dierkes apologized to the victim’s family during the hearing, stating that knowing he had caused them permanent sadness “is heart-crushing to me.”
“I wish I could go back and change a lot of things, but I can’t,” said Dierkes, in the report. “No one deserves to be taken from this world the way that she was.”
Wilson’s husband, Hugh, described his wife of 48 years as having a beautiful heart, adding that she cared deeply about her family and provided joy and happiness to others.
“I know Paula has forgiven you from above,” Hugh Wilson said, addressing Dierkes directly, according to the report.
WATCH: Logan Dierkes, 20, of Hatfield, Pa., is escorted to #MontcoPa jail to serve 11½ to 23 months on charges of homicide by vehicle & driving under the influence of marijuana in connection with Sept. 14, 2023, crash that killed Paula Ann Wilson, 72, of Bethlehem area. pic.twitter.com/ExQ7s1kfUt
— Carl Hessler Jr. (@MontcoCourtNews) April 25, 2024
Crews were initially dispatched to the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on Mininger Road near the intersection with Milburn Court on Sept. 14, 2023 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 Paula Ann Wilson, of Bethlehem, 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 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 encompasses 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. 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.
Read more on the sentencing hearing here.
