When multiple car accidents occur in close time proximity on the same stretch of road, everyone who drives on that road has to be concerned. This was recently the case on Pennsylvania Route 115, where earlier this year two fatal accidents occurred within a week of each other.
In one of the fatal accidents, the 29-year-old driver, Fatmir Mece, faced prosecution for several moving violations. He pleaded guilty in August to careless driving in a crash that killed Kim Biggs-Keil, a wife and mother of two children.
In the other fatal crash, a 38-year-old woman, Christina Rock, lost control of her car and collided with an oncoming vehicle. Rock was killed. The driver of the oncoming car and her 7-year-old child were injured.
Criminal Consequences
After thoroughly investigating the crash caused by Fatmir Mece, authorities concluded that homicide charges were not warranted because there was no evidence of gross negligence. But Mece must pay a $500 fine and will receive three points against his license.
Mece had been traveling 58 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone. Besides speed, another important contributing factor to the accident was that Mece was driving on bald tires, despite passing a state tire inspection only two months before. Wayne Treible, the owner of the auto shop in East Stroudsburg that conducted the faulty inspection, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of faulty inspection.
Pennsylvania DOT Changes
After the two fatal crashes on Route 115, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation made several changes to the road. The agency lowered the speed limit to 45 and, in place of passing lanes, put in a turning lane for both lanes of traffic. The state police also stepped up patrols in the area and issued hundreds of citations.
PA 115 is an old road, with origins dating back to a pathway used during the Revolutionary War. It is a pity that it took two fatal crashes to help bring it into the twenty-first century.