Camden,DE : Driver pleads guilty to murder in triple-fatal Route 422 crash on October, Tuesday 17th 2017
Bowing his head in shame and at times tearful, a New York man admitted he was drag racing and speeding when he crashed his car on Route 422 in West Pottsgrove, killing two passengers - his best friend and a pregnant woman.
Shone G. Santiago, 22, of New York City, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday to two felony counts of third-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder of an unborn child in connection with the 12:02 a.m. crash on eastbound Route 422 in West Pottsgrove.
Killed during the high-speed street race crash were Anthony Rodriguez, 23, of East Elmhurst, N.Y., and Marissa Christina Kelly, 20 of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, who were passengers in Santiago’s white BMW sedan. Kelly also was pregnant, authorities said.
Wearing a red jailhouse jumpsuit, Santiago described Rodriguez as “my best friend” and said Kelly was the girlfriend of Rodriguez. Santiago said he did not know at the time that Kelly was pregnant.
“I sustained a lot of injuries and I don’t remember a lot of stuff,” Santiago told Judge Todd D. Eisenberg, maintaining he does not remember losing control of his vehicle on the highway or the moment of impact.
Eisenberg deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report, including drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations, of Santiago, who is represented by defense lawyer Jacob A. Gurwitz. Santiago, who faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison on the charges, remains in the county jail without bail pending sentencing.
Third-degree murder requires an element of malice, which is present when someone acts with a recklessness of consequences and with an extreme indifference to the value of human life.
“The recklessness in this case was so severe, so extreme, that it rose to the level of malice. The recklessness in this case is a combination of extreme speeds, 121 mph at a minimum in a 40 mph zone, combined with drag racing. It was two cars drag racing on Route 422,” said county Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. McGoldrick.
McGoldrick and co-prosecutor Samantha Thompson indicated they will seek a “significant” state prison sentence against Santiago.
Kelly’s relatives were in court to witness Santiago’s admission and wept during the brief hearing.
The man with whom Santiago was racing, Evaughn-Sha Antonio Walters, 21, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty last week to two felony counts of homicide by vehicle in connection with the crash. A person commits homicide by vehicle when they recklessly or with gross negligence cause the death of another person while violating traffic laws. Prosecutors alleged Walters’ violations included racing on highways, speeding and careless and reckless driving.
Walters faces a possible maximum sentence of seven to 14 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.
Investigators determined Walters and Santiago knew each other by attending UTI technical school in Exton.
The investigation began when West Pottsgrove police responded to the eastbound lanes of Route 422 near the Stowe exit for a report of a one-vehicle crash involving a white 2007 BMW that left the roadway, crashed through a guard rail and careened 200 feet down an embankment and into a ravine. Santiago, the driver, and passengers Rodriguez and Kelly were trapped inside the overturned vehicle, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective David Schanes.
Rodriguez, the front right seat passenger, and Kelly, the rear left seat passenger, were declared dead at the scene. Santiago was transported by medical helicopter to Reading Hospital Trauma Center in West Reading with multiple injuries, including to his spine and two broken arms.
An autopsy determined Rodriguez and Kelly suffered blunt force head injuries. Doctors also determined Kelly was 15 weeks pregnant.
Detectives alleged Santiago’s car was traveling at a minimum speed of 121 mph just before the crash.
The crash occurred near a construction area where the posted speed limit was 40 mph and the area was marked by construction zone warning signs, authorities said.
Investigators determined Walters, driving a 2007 Toyota Camry, called 911 and told dispatchers he witnessed a car “run off the road.”
In his initial statement to detectives Walters claimed that Santiago and he were traveling at a slow speed at the eastbound entrance to the Route 422 bypass in Douglassville, Berks County, when a black Dodge Challenger with a Delaware license plate pulled up beside Santiago and then both cars “took off just flying.” Walters claimed he eventually came upon the damaged guard rail, stopped his car and saw Santiago’s car in the ravine upside down.
Walters initially claimed the black Dodge Challenger also stopped at the scene but then fled.
Based on Walters’ descriptions authorities initially searched for a black Dodge Challenger having a Delaware license plate.
However, detectives downloaded a video from Walters’ cellphone depicting an earlier race in the southbound lanes of Route 100 near Shoemaker Road and determined the cars involved where operated by Santiago and Walters, who was filming the race as he drove. The video recorded the speedometer of Walters’ vehicle at 137 mph during the earlier race, according to testimony.
During a subsequent March 1 interview Walters then admitted to racing Santiago on Route 100 and later on Route 422 and to lying about a black Dodge being part of the Route 422 race, according to the arrest affidavit.
“Walters stated that Santiago asked him if he wanted to do another pull, meaning race. Walters replied, ‘not really.’ Walters said that they ended up racing anyway,” Schanes wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Walters, who admitted to traveling between 80- and 100-mph during the race, claimed he was behind Santiago’s car when he observed Santiago lose control of his car on a curve, crash through the guard rail and careen into the ravine.
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Driver pleads guilty to murder in triple-fatal Route 422 crash