By John Beauge
WILLIAMSPORT — A Williamsport
police officer involved in fatal, fiery crash while rushing to the aid of
another officer is being charged with vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter.
Lycoming County District
Attorney Eric Linhardt on Monday said Officer Jonathan DePrenda, 32, will be
arraigned at 9 a.m. Tuesday. A news conference will follow at 11 a.m. with
state and city police, he said.
The charges are the result of a
state police investigation into the Jan. 12 crash at East Third and Railway
streets that killed James David Robinson, 42 of Williamsport, the prosecutor
said.
State police said they
determined DePrenda, a member of the force since August 2011, was in a marked
cruiser traveling at 88 mph in a 35-mph zone when the crash occurred. His
emergency lights and siren were on, they said.
Police may exceed the speed
limit when responding to an emergency if lights and siren are used, but
Linhardt previously noted that they must exercise due care to not endanger
public safety.
DePrenda was headed east on
East Third Street, toward Grove Street and Harding Avenue. A less experienced
officer had radioed from that location to say he was holding a suspect at
gunpoint following a pursuit, investigators.
Heroin was found in that car
and the driver, Jeremy A. Gooden, 23, of Williamsport, was charged with drug
and driving counts.
State police said their
investigation determined DePrenda came upon three vehicles, also eastbound, and
passed the first two.
The collision occurred as
Robinson, in the third car, started to make a left turn onto Railway Street,
and turned in front of DePrenda's cruiser, state police said.
Robinson’s car spun clockwise,
severed a utility pole and came to rest against a house where it burst into
flames, police said. Robinson was pronounced dead at the scene.
City police Capt. Timothy
Miller declined comment on the charges, because he said he has not seen them.
DePrenda has been on administrative leave since the accident.
State police were asked to
conduct the investigation because a city police officer was involved and the
nature of the accident.
