NORRISTOWN — During an emotion-filled hearing, a Hatfield Township man admitted he was speeding in a Dodge Charger and had traces of marijuana in his system when he struck a Ford Explorer that was exiting a residential driveway in Franconia Township, killing a Bethlehem area woman who was driving the Ford.
Logan Parker Dierkes, 20, of the 1200 block of Alexander Drive, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering other people in connection with the 5:43 p.m. Sept. 14, 2023, crash that killed Paula Ann Wilson, 72, of Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County.
The crash occurred in the 500 block of Mininger Road in Franconia.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who imposed the sentence as part of a plea agreement hashed out between prosecutors and the defense, also ordered Dierkes to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Dierkes will be under court supervision for five years. Dierkes’ driver’s license will be suspended for four years. Dierkes also must pay $51,070 in restitution to the victim’s family.
With the homicide by vehicle charge, Dierkes admitted that he recklessly or with gross negligence caused the death of another person while violating motor vehicle laws. Testimony revealed Dierkes was driving between 84- and 97-mph at the time of the crash in an area posted with a speed limit of 35 mph.
“He was going well over two times the legal speed limit on a residential road. It was completely inappropriate to be driving like that. It was completely reckless to drive like that. He wasn’t able to stop. He wasn’t able to avoid the collision and the collision was so severe it did cause Paula Wilson’s death,” said Assistant District Attorney Bradley Deckel.
Testimony revealed Wilson was exiting the driveway of her son’s home, taking her 7-year-old granddaughter to a sporting event. The little girl, who was found buckled in the rear passenger seat of the Explorer, was transported to a hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
After the crash, Wilson was transported to Grand View Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m. An autopsy at the Bucks County Coroner’s Office determined Wilson died from blunt injuries.
“From the victim impact statements in court, Paula Wilson, by all accounts by everyone who knew her, was a loving mother, wife and grandmother and cherished friend,” Deckel said.
An emotional Hugh Wilson Sr., the victim’s husband, told the judge he and his wife were high school and college “sweethearts” and that he was blessed to be married to his wife for 48 years. The couple had four children and nine grandchildren.
“Paula was all about family. She always made everyone feel happiness and joy. She had a beautiful heart and shared so much with others,” Hugh Wilson choked back tears. “I can only think that Paula’s last thoughts were to ask God to spare her granddaughter.”
Paula once served as an elementary school teacher in the Bethlehem Area School District, according to her obituary. Hugh Wilson and her children described Paula as loving children, having a passion for cooking and decorating her home and as a woman of deep faith.
“I know Paula has forgiven you from above,” Hugh Wilson addressed Dierkes directly.
Weeping uncontrollably, the victim’s daughter, Jennifer, said she was four months pregnant with her first child when her mother died and the fact her daughter will never get to meet “her granny” fills her with sadness.
“She was special and her love is irreplaceable,” Jennifer said about her mother.
Dierkes, at times tearful, apologized to Wilson’s relatives, saying the fact he caused their permanent sadness “is heart-crushing to me.”
“I wish I could go back and change a lot of things but I can’t. No one deserves to be taken from this world the way that she was,” said Dierkes, his lips quivering with emotion at times as he spoke.
Defense lawyer Paul Mallis urged the judge to accept the plea agreement given Dierkes’ remorse, acceptance of responsibility and lack of a prior criminal record.
“There are definitely no winners in this case. These cases are awful on both sides to deal with. My client is contrite, remorseful and quite frankly, mentally distraught over what happened here. He is in total acknowledgement of the forever pain that he caused the Wilson family. He is 20 years of age and will live with this the rest of his life as well,” Mallis said.
As part of the plea agreement, a more serious charge of homicide by vehicle while DUI, which can carry a three-year mandatory prison sentence upon conviction, was dismissed against Dierkes.
“The investigation found that the direct cause of the accident was the defendant’s speed. The investigation revealed that while he did have THC in his system, the direct cause of the accident was the speed,” Deckel explained.
Mallis has argued that forensic toxicology analysis showed that the amount of THC in Dierkes’ system did not impair his ability to safely operate a vehicle.
“And if it does not impair your ability to safely operate a vehicle, you don’t have causation. If you don’t have causation, you don’t have homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence,” Mallis contended.
The investigation began about 5:43 p.m. Sept. 14, when Franconia police responded to the Mininger Road location for a report of a crash with injuries involving a 2008 black Dodge Charger operated by Dierkes and a 2007 black Ford Explorer operated by Wilson.
Arriving officers found Dierkes outside of his vehicle bleeding from the head and he was transported to Grand View Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
“Paula Wilson was trapped inside the vehicle and had to be extricated by the fire department. She was unresponsive,” county Detective David Schanes and Franconia Detective Eric Frary wrote in the criminal complaint.
The investigation determined that Dierkes was traveling westbound on Mininger Road at a speed of at least 84 mph in a 35-mph zone. Wilson was pulling out of the driveway of 529 Mininger Road attempting to turn left onto eastbound Mininger Road when Dierkes crested a small hill in the roadway.
“Due to Dierkes’ high speed, he was unable to stop or take any other action, and he struck the driver’s side door and fender area of the Ford Explorer,” Schanes and Frary alleged. “The force of the impact caused the Dodge to underride the Ford and caused the Ford to roll onto its driver’s side onto the front of the Dodge.”
At some point the Ford separated from the Dodge before it righted back onto its wheels and came to rest 105 feet west of the initial crash location, authorities alleged. The Dodge Charger rotated 180 degrees and came to its resting position 56 feet west of the point of impact.
Surveillance video was obtained from a residence that is just east of the crash location. The video was analyzed using two methods to determine speed. One measure found that Dierkes’ vehicle was traveling between 84 mph and 97 mph just prior to the crash, while another analysis placed the vehicle’s speed at between 90 mph and 97 mph.
A witness who lives in the 400 block of Mininger Road told detectives she observed the Dodge Charger pass her house at the “fastest speed she has ever seen a car pass her house.” The woman described the driver’s speed as “flying by.”
A post-crash inspection found no mechanical issues that could have caused the crash, detectives said.
Testing on Dierkes’ blood found metabolites of marijuana in his system. After his blood was taken, Dierkes allegedly stated that he “does smoke marijuana on a regular basis and he does not have a medical marijuana card.”
