DRIVER CHARGED IN
ROUTE 422 TRUCK CRASH WITH DRIVING AT AN UNSAFE SPEED, RECKLESS DRIVING,
CARELESS DRIVING AND DRIVING WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE
January 24, 2015
SANATOGA, LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA – A
55-year-old Shippensburg PA man, whose accident in a large truck he was driving
ended up blocking traffic for hours earlier this month on U.S. Route 422 at
Armand Hammer Boulevard, has been charged with five violations in the incident,
including operating with a suspended or revoked commercial vehicle license.
Lower Pottsgrove Police Ofc. Matthew Meitzler, who
investigated the crash, announced early this morning (Friday, Jan. 23) that
driver James Monahan has also been charged with failure to drive a vehicle at a
safe speed, reckless driving, careless driving, and failure to use a restraint
system.
The owner of the trucking company that employed Monahan
faces traffic-related violations as well, Meitzler added.
The single-vehicle accident occurred Jan. 8 (2015;
Thursday) at 7:22 a.m. on westbound 422, as rush-hour commuters were headed to
their destinations. Investigations and witness interviews indicate Monahan lost
control of the truck, Meitzler alleged, and struck a guardrail and concrete
barrier in the 422 construction zone just as he approached the Armand Hammer
Boulevard on-ramp.
The speed limit in the construction zone is 40 miles per
hour.
Upon impact the tractor-trailer, owned by Ranveer
Trucking Inc. of Harrisburg PA, “traveled a short distance west and left the
highway,” Meitzler reported, crossing over the on-ramp and plunging into a
north-side embankment. Monahan was thrown backward into the truck’s rear
sleeper cab and became trapped. He suffered a head injury, and was found
unconscious by emergency responders who extricated and rushed him to a Reading
hospital.
422’s westbound lanes were closed for about two hours,
the officer noted, as township police, Sanatoga Fire Company apparatus and a
Goodwill Ambulance crew arrived to find the truck and trailer “completely”
blocking the ramp. The snarled commute didn’t resume until after the wreckage
was towed from the scene, he added.
Rupinder Sidhu, 42, of Harrisburg, who Meitzler said is
the owner of Ranveer, has been charged with permitting an unauthorized person
to drive, and permitting a violation of title.