Burlco driver charged with homicide in roadside death of jogging teacher
A Burlington County man has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide for striking a middle school teacher who was jogging on the side of Route 206 in Southampton last year, and then crashing his truck, causing a front-seat passenger to be ejected and killed.
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A Burlington County man has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide for striking a middle school teacher who was jogging on the side of Route 206 in Southampton last year, and then crashing his truck, causing a front-seat passenger to be ejected and killed.
The county Prosecutor's Office said it charged Patrick J. Miller, 29, of New Hanover, after receiving toxicology tests that indicated he was intoxicated and unfit to drive safely. Investigators would not detail how Miller was impaired, but said he received a traffic summons for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, marijuana.
The crash occurred around 2 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2015, when Miller's truck veered across the center line of Route 206 and struck Allison McGinnis, 29, of Southampton, as she jogged on the southbound shoulder. McGinnis taught English and language arts to seventh and eighth graders at Helen Fort/Newcomb Middle School in Pemberton Township.
She had been part of the school's grief team after an incoming student, Janiya Castleberry, 13, died just one week earlier after complications from a car accident.
Miller's truck overturned after striking McGinnis and several trees. The passenger, David Eldridge, 31, of Wrightstown, was crushed by the truck after he was ejected, the Prosecutor's Office said. He was listed on Facebook at the time as the owner of Hard Knocks Sportfishing in Brick, N.J. His family could not be reached Friday.
Both he and McGinnis were pronounced dead at the crash scene.
Miller received additional summonses for reckless driving and failure to remain in his lane. The Prosecutor's Office said Friday that he was free on bail. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
McGinnis' mother, Deborah, declined to comment Friday.
Allison McGinnis graduated in 2004 from Lenape High School and attended Rowan University, where she graduated in 2008 with a bachelor's degree, according to her obituary.
She was a fifth-grade teacher at Lindenwold Middle School before going to Helen Fort/Newcomb.
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