NORRISTOWN >> During an emotional hearing, a Berks County man learned he faces up to seven years in prison after admitting to driving recklessly and under the influence of a prescription painkiller at the time of a fiery, two-vehicle crash along Route 100 that killed a North Coventry motorcyclist.
Dante Tadzio Rau, 28, of the 600 block of State Street, Mertztown, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 21/2 to seven years in state prison on charges of homicide by vehicle, reckless driving, careless driving, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, speeding and following two closely in connection with the 2:45 p.m. May 3, 2014, crash that claimed the life of 37-year-old Robert Gatchel of North Coventry.
The fatal crash occurred in the northbound left lane of Route 100 near Rick Road in Douglass (Mont.) Township.
President Judge William J. Furber Jr. imposed the sentence after hearing emotional testimony from Gatchel’s wife and friends.
“The way that Bob Gatchel died was horrendous,” said Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Magee, who sought a lengthy prison sentence against Rau.
The judge rejected a defense request that Rau be permitted to report to jail on a later date and sheriff’s deputies immediately took him into custody.
Rau apologized for his conduct during the hearing.
“Our position from the beginning of the case is that this was really an accident. From day one he’s been extremely remorseful and regretful. He never intended to kill anyone and he feels terrible that he did,” said defense lawyer Justin Boehret.
“He was grossly negligent, there was no way around that, but it was not an intentional act. He’s going to have to live with this every day, that’s never going to go away, and that really is punishment in itself,” Boehret added.
Specifically, Rau, who pleaded guilty to the charges last year, admitted that his reckless conduct caused the death of Gatchel, who was operating a motorcycle in front of Rau’s 2000 Honda Civic, and he also admitted that he had fentanyl in his system while operating the Honda.
Fentanyl is a prescription painkiller.
With the vehicular homicide charge Rau admitted that he recklessly or with gross negligence caused the death of another person while violating a motor vehicle law.
Under the terms of the guilty plea, while Rau admitted he had fentanyl in his system there was no admission or conclusion that the controlled substance is what caused the crash.
Authorities alleged Rau was traveling at an excessive speed
In court papers, investigators alleged Rau was traveling at a minimum of 79 mph in a zone posted for a speed of 55 mph when his vehicle slammed into the back of Gatchel’s motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to become trapped under Rau’s Honda.
“He admitted that he did cause the crash that killed Bob Gatchel due to his recklessness, particularly due to the speed at which he was traveling. Whatever the case may be with regard to the drugs in his system, there’s absolutely no reason for him to be going that fast on a straight stretch of road and not be able to see Bob Gatchel who was safely operating his motorcycle that day,” Magee said.
Prosecutors pointed out to the judge that Rau was still on probation for a drug offense in Philadelphia at the time of the crash and despite that continued to abuse opiates.
“That shows you someone who’s had a chance to redeem themselves through the court system…and turn things around and wasted it. He had been given the chance and failed to change his life,” Magee said.
Rau, according to detectives, was driving his Honda northbound on Route 100 behind Gatchel when his car struck the rear of the motorcycle.
“The motorcycle went down on the ground and the car ran up on top of the motorcycle and the rider,” county Detective David Schanes and Douglass (Mont.) Detective Robert Evans alleged in the arrest affidavit. “The motorcycle and the rider became wedged under the car.”
Rau’s car continued for a distance of about 750 feet before coming to rest, detectives said.
“The car, motorcycle and the rider caught fire. The rider was killed as a result of his injuries and the subsequent fire,” Schanes and Evans alleged.
Gatchel was pronounced dead at the scene. Rau was uninjured in the crash, detectives said.
The results of a blood test revealed Rau had fentanyl in his system at the time of the crash. When Rau was interviewed by authorities he allegedly told them he took a morphine pill about two days before the crash, according to the arrest affidavit.
Rau allegedly told detectives he drifted toward the median, hit a rut or pothole, steered back to the right and then to the left, clipping the rear wheel of the motorcycle in front of him. Rau, according to the arrest affidavit, claimed he was trying to brake but the car would not stop.
The investigation determined Rau’s vehicle showed no signs of mechanical defects that could have contributed to the crash.
