Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

options

READER FEEDBACK

Levittown man on drugs at time of fatal crash, judge rules

By Bonnie L. Cook

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A Levittown man was impaired by drugs when he started a chain-reaction crash Jan. 29 that killed a police officer, a Bucks County judge ruled this morning.

Judge Albert J. Cepparulo said the fact that Frank W. Budka, 45, had traces of marijuana and legally prescribed painkillers in his blood did figure in the crash on Route. 1.

Middletown Township Officer Christopher Jones, 37, a married father of three who was eulogized at his funeral as a "very, very good man," was killed in the accident.

Jones had just pulled over a vehicle for speeding and was walking back to his cruiser when Budka's car rammed another car and then the cruiser, wedging Jones beneath.

Jones suffered head injuries and a broken leg. He died at a hospital without regaining consciousness.

After an investigation, police cited Budka with more than a dozen charges relating to the accident. He pleaded guilty to all but one during two days of testimony this week in Doylestown.

Budka went to trial on the remaining charge, vehicular homicide under the influence of a controlled substance. To prove that charge, the prosecutor must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant ingested drugs and that the drugs caused impaired driving.

The felony charge carried a penalty of three to 10 years in prison. No sentencing date was set this morning.

During testimony, a paramedic and an accident investigator said Budka's eyes were red and glassy right after the accident, his speech was slurred, and he appeared disoriented and incoherent.

That behavior, along with traces of marijuana in Budka's bloodstream, formed a circumstantial litany of evidence, the prosecutor said in closing arguments.

But the defense insisted that the miniscule traces in Budka's blood weren't enough to impair his driving, and that his behavior, while odd, couldn't be linked to drug use.

Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or bcook@phillynews.com.

CURRENTLY SHOWING ON PHILLY.COM

A Philly girl's love for Michael Vick

Philly Uncorked: Cooking and wine

Mob Scene: Bad Cop

SnapGlow.TV: Frame your face

The Gossip with Marnie Hall: El Cafeito

Comments

Posted 11:44 AM, 11/12/2009

phlyfumblr

where are all the morons who call for the legalization of drugs on here?

Posted 11:51 AM, 11/12/2009

ALJ

A lousy 3 to 10 years. He needs life in prison.

Posted 11:52 AM, 11/12/2009

yawns

alcohol is legal and look at all of the harm it does, i don't know what legality has to do with impaired driving. combine this with the fact that 'drug testing' is really 'marijuana testing'; your real hard drugs leave the system relatively quickly..

Posted 11:56 AM, 11/12/2009

ryphilly8507

Traces of marijuana doesn't mean he was high. Legally prescribed painkillers or pot, its your problem if you choose to get behind the wheel of a car.

Posted 12:08 PM, 11/12/2009

luvgia

phlyfumblr: did you miss this part of the article? "legally prescribed painkillers in his blood" - or were you referring to the "traces of marijuana" - I'm a tad bit confused by your post. Should painkillers be illegal? Or were you referring to the traces of marijuana? Do you even know what you're talking about?

Posted 12:17 PM, 11/12/2009

bryane

I bet the "legally prescribed" drugs had more to do with the crash than the pot.

Posted 12:19 PM, 11/12/2009

Politburo

phlyfumblr - So your argument is that the government should be able to control what you do to your body, because some morons choose to drive while impaired? Do you support alcohol prohibition, then?

Posted 12:35 PM, 11/12/2009

Mark Glaeser

What part of "personal responsibility" don't you understand? Whether or not you are smoking dope or drinking wine or just tired, when you kill someone behind the wheel it's no different than killing someone with a knife or a hammer. Death penalty! Don't blame the pot, that is a cop-out.

Comment removed.

Posted 01:04 PM, 11/12/2009

pencilchair

if you want to legalize drugs that doesn't mean you want to legalize crashing into people with a car. get a clue.

Posted 01:12 PM, 11/12/2009

longshanks

Alcohol and Pharmaceuticals are legal yet their lethal. Pot is not lethal but we spend billions in law enforcement to fight it. Makes sense. Another massively failed conservative crusade that bends over for big business and the worship of the dollar.

Posted 01:27 PM, 11/12/2009

Ecksicon

You happy now fumblr? I would wager that 99 out of 100 of all the reckless drivers who were found to have traces of pot in their system had something else in there as well (booze or pills beingt the most likely).

Posted 01:28 PM, 11/12/2009

diiianaaa

Such a sad, sad story. I live a few minutes from the accident site, and it shook the town so much. Officer Jones was such a well-liked and respected man and officer. 3 to 10 years doesn't seem like justice.

Posted 01:45 PM, 11/12/2009

tl8125

The marijuana in his blood could have been from weeks prior to the accident. He was taking prescribed pain-killers for something. How is this under the influence.

Posted 02:10 PM, 11/12/2009

Politburo

tl8125 - While that is true, the man's condition at the time of the event indicates impairment of some kind. IMO the burden of proof was met. It doesn't really matter what substance caused the impairment.