The driver of a tractor trailer was arrested Wednesday for allegedly causing a fiery crash that killed three people on Interstate 78 in Berks County.
Vincente Espinvera was charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, three counts of involuntary manslaughter, 17 counts of recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving, careless driving and related offenses, District Attorney John Adams and state police announced at a news conference in Reading.
"This was a difficult case to reconstruct and the fact that there was a fire that resulted from the crash destroyed a lot of the evidence that we normally would have been able to find," Adams said. "A lot of it was destroyed in the fire."
Espinvera, 56, of Belleville, New Jersey, was driving his truck east on I-78 in Greenwich Township on May 12 when he failed to slow down for traffic that was stopped because of construction and struck several other vehicles in front of him, authorities said, noting that numerous warning signs were posted for miles ahead of where the crash ultimately happened.
Three people died in the wreck and several others were injured. Killed were Bob Rosner, of Sellersville, Bucks County, who worked as a Deputy Attorney General in Allentown; and Edward and Theresa Dearden, a couple from York County.
The investigation revealed that Espinvera was sleep-deprived in the hours leading up to the crash, departing Phoenix, Arizona, on a United Airlines flight at 10:22 p.m. MST the night before and landing in Newark, New Jersey, at 5:45 a.m. EST on May 12, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Espinvera then reported for work at 7 a.m. and began driving 15 minutes later, less than six hours before the crash, police said.
"This accident absolutely should not have happened, and we've had some horrific accidents in this county involving tractor trailers recently," Adams said. "We can't allow these crashes to continue to occur without penalty."
A check of traffic citations and crash reports revealed Espinvera had been involved in seven prior accidents, including six that were reportable, said police, who noted that the non-reportable crash involved the same tractor trailer on I-78 near the Emaus Avenue exit in Allentown.
Espinvera was freed Wednesday on $10,000 bail.
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