Truck driver pleads not guilty to homicide charges in crash that killed pregnant Lansdale woman

NORRISTOWN — The driver of a dump truck involved in a two-car or truck crash in Lessen Providence that killed a expecting Lansdale girl entered not guilty pleas to murder-connected fees and is now awaiting his trial date.

Everett James Clayton, 56, of Charleston, W. Va., confirmed no emotion on Friday as he waived his official arraignment hearing in Montgomery County Courtroom.

Particularly, Clayton pleaded not guilty to expenses of 3rd-degree murder, 3rd-degree murder of an unborn child, murder by car, careless and reckless driving and speeding in relationship with the 2:59 p.m. Aug. 25, 2022, head-on crash in the 500 block of South Park Avenue, that killed 31-yr-previous Kellie Adams, of Lansdale, and her unborn little one, Emersyn Grace Adams.

Decide William R. Carpenter presided about the transient hearing and will program Clayton’s trial date for afterwards this yr.

Clayton, who continues to be in the county jail in lieu of $500,000 dollars bail, declined to remark about the charges as he was escorted to and from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.

“It’s early in the course of action. We’re just now acquiring into the discovery concerns. We have a lengthy way to go on both of those sides. But at this level in time, it is our situation that we think that this is not murder. It doesn’t increase to the degree of murder,” defense law firm James P. Lyons, the main homicide lawyer in the community defender’s business, who signifies Clayton, said right after the hearing.

First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr. and co-prosecutor Gabrielle Hughes are prosecuting the scenario.

The crash involved a 2003 Ford F650 XLT Super Duty dump truck operated by Clayton and a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe operated by Adams.

Detectives alleged “Clayton’s reckless and careless operation triggered him to cross the heart of the roadway and enter into the reverse lane of journey.”

Through the investigation, detectives recovered cellphone video clip depicting Clayton’s driving behavior for extra than 25 minutes major up to the fatal crash. Clayton, according to courtroom files, experienced been recording video clip on his cellphone, which was situated on his vehicle’s dashboard, dealing with out the front windshield.

The recovered movie confirmed Clayton excessively dashing, tailgating other automobiles and continuously operating his car or truck in a reckless way, detectives alleged. The online video footage commenced 25 minutes and 27 seconds prior to the lethal crash and showed a number of near-miss incidents with other automobiles, in accordance to court documents.

The investigation began about 2:59 p.m. Aug 25, when Lessen Providence law enforcement responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash with entrapment in the 500 block of South Park Avenue in the Audubon area of the township, according to a criminal complaint submitted by Reduced Providence Police Sergeant Ryan Singleton.

Adams, who was eight months pregnant at the time of the crash, died at the scene and her baby was later stillborn.

An autopsy determined the trigger of dying was blunt influence accidents to both equally Adams and her unborn boy or girl. Adams, a mother of two boys, was a 2009 graduate of North Penn Substantial College and was a center and large faculty trainer at Cottage Seven Academy in Phoenixville, according to her obituary.

Lessen Providence law enforcement crash reconstruction authorities determined Clayton was traveling southbound on South Park Avenue and Adams was traveling northbound at the time of the crash.

The two-lane roadway incorporates a double yellow painted line in the center dividing the northbound and southbound lanes and also involves a grooved pavement that alerts drivers if they begin to go from the lane, police claimed.

The roadway has a posted 40 mph velocity restrict and cars approaching a curve in the southbound route move a posted targeted visitors handle warning indicator advising of the curve with a recommended pace of 25 mph.

Clayton’s southbound truck was traveling via the curve in the roadway, was not able to keep his lane of vacation and crossed the double yellow line, entered the northbound lanes and struck Adams’s auto head-on, law enforcement alleged.

“Investigators identified this was triggered by the dimensions of the Clayton motor vehicle traveling at a pace far too good for the curve radius,” Singleton alleged. “This affect was of these kinds of a violent mother nature that it stopped all ahead momentum of the Adams auto and displaced it fully off the roadway into a discipline.”

The dump truck portion of Clayton’s auto completely separated from the vehicle’s chassis as the vehicle rolled driver’s aspect above passenger’s side and went off the roadway, police said.

The operator of the dump truck, Patrick Hadley Doran, 23, of Gaithersburg, Md., also was charged in link with the crash. Doran, who is still awaiting court docket action, was billed with homicide by automobile, allowing the operation of a automobile with no the correct fiscal responsibility and several other summary offenses associated to violations of the Pennsylvania Motor Automobile Code, in accordance to courtroom documents.

With the prices against Doran, detectives alleged he permitted an unsafe motor vehicle to be operated on the street and that had he adopted the laws of Pennsylvania’s Motor Motor vehicle Code as well as Federal Motor Provider Protection Laws and ensured that Clayton was in good shape to travel, “this crash could have been prevented.”

The investigation decided the dump truck’s registration experienced expired in June 2022. Investigators also identified the registration was issued to a Philadelphia concrete enterprise whose operator subsequently encouraged law enforcement that he had offered the truck to yet another person in July 2022, according to the arrest affidavit. Investigators alleged Doran utilized an alias to invest in the truck and failed to lawfully transfer the automobile possession and appropriately sign up the vehicle into his name or his company’s identify.

The investigation also unveiled the dump truck did not have a recent Pennsylvania inspection and the vehicle exhibited an expired 2019 New Jersey condition inspection sticker, in accordance to court papers.

Clayton, investigators alleged, was unable to offer legislation enforcement with appropriate proof of economic duty for the car or truck at the scene of the crash.

For the duration of an job interview by law enforcement, Clayton allegedly suggested that he had eaten an alcoholic beverage at lunch and an supplemental alcoholic beverage about 30 minutes ahead of the crash and maintained he was not less than the impact of liquor at the time of the crash. Officers at the scene, observed Clayton holding a plastic bag that contains more containers of beer, in accordance to the criminal criticism.

Investigators claimed assessments later on established Clayton experienced a blood alcoholic beverages level of .076 {e538325c9cf657983df5f7d849dafd1e35f75768f2b9bd53b354eb0ae408bb3c}, which is just under .08 {e538325c9cf657983df5f7d849dafd1e35f75768f2b9bd53b354eb0ae408bb3c}, the lawful restrict for driving. Clayton is not charged with DUI.

Even so, authorities alleged that being in possession of and less than the influence of any detectable amount of money of intoxicating beverage “would have placed him out of service,” under federal motor carrier regulations.

Clayton, in accordance to court papers, explained to investigators he was working for a paving and asphalt enterprise, that he was the foreman and that it was his work to push the truck to the position web-site.

“Clayton mentioned he was not acquainted with the street he was driving on when the crash transpired but mentioned it experienced a lot of curves,” Singleton alleged.

Soon after a put up-crash inspection of the truck, investigators concluded there were being no mechanical complications or failures that could have contributed to the crash. Even so, authorities concluded the vehicle would not have passed Pennsylvania inspection specifications for numerous motives, the most noteworthy failure relevant to the variation in the diameter of both equally sets of rear twin tires which “could  lead to lateral steadiness difficulties when rapid steering enter is applied,” investigators alleged.