Erie, PA : Charges held for court in fatal Millcreek crash on Tuesday, October 3, 2017

An Erie man accused by Millcreek Township police of causing a fatal two-vehicle crash at a Peach Street intersection had the criminal charges filed against him held for court on Tuesday.

Charges including homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence were held for court following 19-year-old Zachary J. Strader’s preliminary hearing before Greene Township District Judge Susan Strohmeyer on Tuesday afternoon. Strader remains free on unsecured bond.

Millcreek police accused Strader of speeding and of driving with a chemical found in marijuana in his system when his Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which was traveling south on Peach Street, collided with a Ford Focus that was traveling east on West Grandview Boulevard on the afternoon of Feb. 17. The driver of the Ford, 67-year-old Millcreek resident John Naylor, died of his injuries at UPMC Hamot.

Police also charged in the criminal complaint that Strader admitted to smoking marijuana within 24 hours of the crash, and that blood testing after the crash found levels of THC, a chemical found in marijuana, in Strader’s system.

Millcreek police Patrolman William Lawrence testified under questioning by Erie County Assistant District Attorney Mark Richmond that Strader told him he was traveling about 50 to 60 mph in the 40 mph zone when he saw the other vehicle pull out, and he was unable to stop before crashing. Millcreek police Sgt. Anthony Chimera, who investigated the crash and filed the charges against Strader, said data collected from Strader’s car found that it was traveling between 78 and 83 mph 3 seconds before the crash; and calculations he did from surveillance video obtained from a business at the intersection found Strader’s car traveling between 57 and 62 mph one second before impact.

Chimera testified that Naylor’s vehicle had come to a stop in the intersection before the collision occurred. Under questioning by Strader’s lawyer, Robert Kinnear, Chimera described Naylor’s stop at the stop sign on West Grandview Boulevard at Peach Street as a “stop and go,” and said he could not say whether Naylor saw Strader’s car approaching when Naylor stopped in the middle of the intersection before the crash. Chimera also told Kinnear that he did not know what caused Naylor to stop in the intersection.

Kinnear argued after testimony that the homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges should be dismissed because the crash would not have occurred had Naylor not pulled into the intersection, failing to yield to oncoming traffic. Richmond argued that the charges should stand given the high rate of speed Strader was traveling at the time of the crash.

Source :
Charges held for court in fatal Millcreek crash