Upper Bucks man charged in crash that killed woman, injured her grandson

A Bucks County man was charged Tuesday in a July crash that killed a 67-year-old woman and severely injured her 6-year-old grandson.

Thomas Everitt, 38, faces charges of homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, reckless endangerment, and related offenses in the case. The Kintnersville man was arraigned Tuesday morning in Ottsville district court and released on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Aug. 30.

Thomas F.J. MacAniff, Everitt's lawyer, declined to comment.

Everitt is accused of ignoring a red light on Easton Road in Plumstead Township on July 31, driving his Dodge Ram dump truck through the intersection and colliding with a minivan being driven by Laura Oswald, of Bethlehem, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

Witnesses told police that Everitt's vehicle sped through a "clearly illuminated red traffic signal" and struck Oswald's vehicle as she was making a left-hand turn. The impact trapped Oswald's mother, Jeanette Campbell, inside the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene

Oswald's son was knocked unconscious in the crash and taken to Abington Hospital. He was later transferred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a fractured jaw and skull, the affidavit states. Two other boys, 3 and 8, were treated for minor injuries.

During an interview after the crash, Everitt allegedly told police that he thought the light was green and that he tried to brake before hitting the van. Forensic evidence determined he was traveling at about 50 mph at the time of the crash and didn't apply his brakes until a fraction of a second before the collision. A review of his phone records found that Everitt was on the phone with an employee at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit.

Investigators determined the light at the intersection had been red for 11 seconds before Everitt drove through it.

Court records show Everitt pleaded guilty for failing to obey a traffic control device in an unrelated case in January 2017.