NORRISTOWN – Appearing solemn and tearful at times, a New Hanover woman admitted she acted in a reckless or negligent manner while driving a school bus and unintentionally struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in Lower Pottsgrove.
Donna M. Engler, 64, of the 600 block of Schultz Road, a 16-year veteran of driving school buses, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter and a summary charge of careless driving resulting in an unintentional death in connection with the 7:08 a.m. Sept. 9, 2013, incident at Mervine and North Charlotte streets that claimed the life of pedestrian Shirley Wilhelm, 78, of Pottstown.
‘Not a day goes by, or a moment goes by for that fact, that Mrs. Engler doesn’t feel remorse for her actions that day,’ defense lawyer Timothy Woodward said on Engler’s behalf after the brief hearing. ‘She is devastated by the loss of life and she recognizes that this is an unspeakable tragedy that has caused pain and suffering to a number of people.’
Under state law, a person commits involuntary manslaughter if while performing a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner they cause the death of another person.
Judge Gary S. Silow deferred sentencing so that court officials can prepare a background investigative report about Engler, who was supported in court by her husband. Engler remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing.
The open plea means Engler has no deals with prosecutors regarding her punishment.
The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a possible maximum sentence of 2 1/2 to five years in prison but state sentencing guidelines also would allow for a minimum sentence of between probation and a few months in jail.
Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Reifsnyder said he will consult with the victim’s family and his superiors in determining the penalty that prosecutors will seek at sentencing time.
‘We will ultimately come to a determination as to how we want to proceed. This is a tragic incident all the way around and I think everyone recognizes that,’ Reifsnyder explained. ‘I think the charge is the appropriate one in this case given the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.’
Wilhelm, who was crossing Mervine Street, was struck and killed as Engler made a turn from North Charlotte Street, at the intersection. Authorities said Wilhelm had the right of way at the intersection.
An autopsy determined Wilhelm died of multiple injuries.
Prosecutors alleged, based on a crash reconstruction, that Engler should have been able to observe Wilhelm in the roadway because there were no obstructions. While unintentional, it amounts to careless, reckless and gross negligence, factors that constitute the crime of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors alleged.
Engler cooperated with authorities during the investigation. As a condition of bail, Engler is prohibited from driving a school bus.
‘This is a woman who has never been arrested, has not had as much as a parking ticket, not a blemish on her driving record. She did not see Mrs. Wilhelm and did not intend to hurt anybody that day and is just devastated by the loss of life and she feels for the Wilhelm family and not a moment goes by that she doesn’t think of them and think of the loss that occurred in this case,’ Woodward said.
‘She took her job very seriously and was concerned for the safety of the students that she transported and she was loved and admired by those same students and their parents,’ Woodward claimed.
An investigation began when township police responded to the area for a report of a pedestrian struck shortly after 7 a.m. and found Wilhelm, dressed in a blue sweatshirt, white pants and white sneakers, lying in the eastbound lane of Mervine Street at the intersection of North Charlotte Street, also known as Route 663, according to court papers. Wilhelm died at the scene and police were informed that the striking vehicle, a school bus displaying the number 9, left the scene without stopping, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Robert Turner and Lower Pottsgrove Police Officer Scott Weidenhammer.
Another school bus driver in the area who was traveling south on North Charlotte Street told authorities he witnessed the incident, as did students on his bus, according to court papers. The intersection, court papers indicate, is controlled by a traffic signal which was in proper working order on the day of the fatal incident.
The witness reported he observed Wilhelm walking westbound on Mervine Street waiting to cross Mervine Street southbound. At the same time, the witness observed a school bus, displaying a number 9, stopped at a red traffic signal northbound on North Charlotte Street at Mervine Street, waiting to turn right onto Mervine Street.
‘When the traffic light turned green he observed the female pedestrian begin to walk across the roadway southbound and the bus start to make its turn. He observed the left front of the bus make contact with the pedestrian knocking her to the ground and then run over her,’ Turner and Weidenhammer alleged in the arrest affidavit.
A student on the second bus told investigators ‘he observed the pedestrian in the middle of the roadway in a crouched position as if she was picking something up when she was struck by the turning school bus’ and observed the bus drive off after the crash, according to court documents.
The investigation subsequently determined the left front bumper area of Engler’s bus, while turning, struck Wilhelm, causing her to fall to the ground, at which time the left front tire ran over Wilhelm, according to court papers. The bus continued eastbound, causing the left rear wheels of the bus to run over Wilhelm as she was lying on the roadway, investigators alleged.
Investigators immediately launched an intensive search for the bus.
But at 9:09 a.m. Engler, who drove a bus for Metz Bus Company, contacted township police from her New Hanover home and reported that she may have been the driver of the bus involved in the crash. Investigators went to Engler’s home, where the bus was parked, and a visual inspection revealed evidence of the crash.
The 2009 Bluebird school bus was impounded during the investigation and owners of Metz Bus Company cooperated with authorities, court papers indicate. The investigation determined there were no mechanical problems that contributed to the crash.
During questioning, Engler told authorities she had been driving a school bus for 16 years and that on the morning of the crash she had five students on the bus, all headed to Pope John Paul High School, which is in Upper Providence.
Engler allegedly stated, ‘While I was making the turn I felt a bump under my left front tire. I think it was my front tire. After I made the turn I looked in my left side view mirror and I saw a white bag. I continued on and picked up my last student at Mervine and Washington,’ according to the criminal complaint.
Engler claimed that prior to making the turn she never saw anyone walking along Charlotte Street or Mervine Street.
‘Engler stated she was wearing sunglasses and had the sun visor down but the sun was very blinding,’ Turner and Weidenhammer wrote in the criminal complaint.
Court papers indicate investigators took the striking bus to the intersection on Sept. 11 to assist with a reconstruction of the crash. Investigators determined the area in which Wilhelm was standing prior to crossing the intersection was visible from the operator area of the bus while it was stopped on North Charlotte Street, prior to making the right hand turn.
‘Investigators also determined that as the vehicle was making the right hand turn, the area of Wilhelm was also visible from the operator area of the school bus. Investigators were unable to find an area in which Wilhelm was not able to be observed from the operator area of the school bus with the naked eye or with the use of the left front mirror of the vehicle,’ Turner and Weidenhammer alleged.
Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews
The following is an earlier version of this story.
NORRISTOWN – Appearing solemn and tearful at times, a New Hanover woman admitted she acted in a reckless or negligent manner while driving a school bus and unintentionally struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in Lower Pottsgrove.
Donna M. Engler, 64, of the 600 block of Schultz Road, a 16-year veteran of driving school buses, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter and a summary charge of careless driving resulting in an unintentional death in connection with the 7:08 a.m. Sept. 9, 2013, incident at Mervine and North Charlotte streets that claimed the life of pedestrian Shirley Wilhelm, 78, of Pottstown.
‘Not a day goes by, or a moment goes by for that fact, that Mrs. Engler doesn’t feel remorse for her actions that day,’ defense lawyer Timothy Woodward said on Engler’s behalf after the brief hearing. ‘She is devastated by the loss of life and she recognizes that this is an unspeakable tragedy that has caused pain and suffering to a number of people.’
Under state law, a person commits involuntary manslaughter if while performing a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner they cause the death of another person.
Judge Gary S. Silow deferred sentencing so that court officials can prepare a background investigative report about Engler, who was supported in court by her husband. Engler remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing.
The open plea means Engler has no deals with prosecutors regarding her punishment.
The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a possible maximum sentence of 2 1/2 to five years in prison but state sentencing guidelines also would allow for a minimum sentence of between probation and a few months in jail.
Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Reifsnyder said he will consult with the victim’s family and his superiors in determining the penalty that prosecutors will seek at sentencing time.
‘We will ultimately come to a determination as to how we want to proceed. This is a tragic incident all the way around and I think everyone recognizes that,’ Reifsnyder explained. ‘I think the charge is the appropriate one in this case given the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.’
Wilhelm, who was crossing Mervine Street, was struck and killed as Engler made a turn from North Charlotte Street, at the intersection. Authorities said Wilhelm had the right of way at the intersection.
An autopsy determined Wilhelm died of multiple injuries.
Check back here for more details on this developing story.
Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews
