A man from Likhai County confessed to driving under the influence of alcohol in a fatal accident in Lower Providence

NORISTOWN – A man from Lehigh County confessed to speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into two cars in Lower Providence, killing a second driver, a Chester County resident, and injuring several others.

Devon Michael Lindeman, 24, of Cambridge Circle, 3400, South Whitehall, pleaded guilty in a Montgomery County court on charges of murdering a car while driving under the influence of alcohol, assaulting a car under aggravating circumstances. , by negligently endangering others, DUI and speeding due to a fatal accident on September 18, 2021 in Quarter 400 on South Park Avenue in Lower Providence.

The crash killed 63-year-old Paul E. Conaway of Chester County, and two passengers of Conaway’s car were seriously injured, prosecutors said.

“It’s awful. You have two survivors and a victim killed by the defendant’s actions. This is a risk that occurs when people decide to drink alcohol and get behind the wheel. This is the worst result that could happen, “said Deputy District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd, who is seeking imprisonment in the state against Lindemann.

Judge Wendy Demchyk-Aloy postponed the sentencing so that court officials could draw up a certificate of Lindeman and so that Lindeman could undergo a drug and alcohol assessment.

Attorney David Jay Glassman has asked Lindemann to also undergo a neurological examination because of the concussion he reportedly received in the past.

Lindeman will remain in the county jail without bail pending sentencing.

Lindeman is also awaiting trial in Lehigh County Court on car murder and charges in connection with the June 21, 2020 accident that claimed the lives of married couple Robert and Mary O’Rourke from the town of Nizhny Makungi. Lindeman was driving a truck heading south on Route 145 in the town of North Whitehall when he allegedly collided with a motorcycle traveling north, driven by O’Rourke, authorities said.

Lindemann was charged with the disaster in Lehigh County in December 2021, three months after the disaster in Montgomery County.

Lindeman faces up to at least three years of mandatory imprisonment on charges in Montgomery County, in which he pleaded guilty.

However, Lindeman was warned that if he is found guilty of murder in a car in Lehigh County and the case is first resolved, he faces a 5-year mandatory prison term in Montgomery County. If Lindeman is found guilty of two counts of murdering cars in Lehigh County, prosecutors say he faces up to 7 years in prison in Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County investigation began around 11:45 p.m. on Sept. 18, when Lower Providence police responded to a report of a car accident with injuries on South Park Avenue near Falcon Road. Arriving officers determined that the two-car accident involved a 2021 BMW driven by Lindeman and a 2017 Infiniti QXSO driven by Conaway, according to a criminal complaint filed by Lower Providence Police Officer William Arthur.

Conaway was taken to Einstein Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. A subsequent autopsy revealed that Conaway died from numerous blunt force injuries.

A 56-year-old woman, a passenger in the front seat and a 23-year-old passenger in the back seat of Conaway’s car, were taken to Paoli Trauma Hospital, where they were seriously injured. Two passengers of the Lindeman car refused treatment at the scene, but later that evening sought treatment at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Lindeman was not injured in the crash.

An investigation by city police and county detectives found that Lindeman’s car was traveling north on South Park Avenue and crossed the centerline of the roadway more than five feet, right in the way of Conaway’s car to the south, “which led to the driver’s front each vehicle struck violently in the southern lane, ”the criminal case reads.

Data from the BMW airbag control module showed that at the time of the impact the car was moving at a speed of 68 miles per hour in the 40 mph zone. Authorities said the Conaway car was traveling at 39 miles per hour.

Subsequent blood tests showed that Lindeman’s blood alcohol content was 0.104%, which exceeded the permissible limit of 0.08%, according to the arrest certificate.

Investigators argued that the cause of the crash was directly related to Lindemann’s combination of disability levels, as well as the speed and manner in which he was driving his car.

“The nature of the accident and the exchange of forces during the accident confirm the findings that Devan Lindemann was driving at excessive speed with a deliberate strong acceleration in a state of intoxication,” Arthur wrote in his arrest certificate, adding that Lindemann was driving his car. means. “With extreme carelessness and carelessness” and was unable to maintain a proper lane when he was weakened by alcohol.