NORRISTOWN — A judge said a Gilbertsville man with prior DUI convictions showed no love for his girlfriend when he chose to operate a motorcycle while under the influence of methamphetamine and with a suspended license and violated numerous traffic laws, ultimately causing a two-vehicle crash in Limerick that killed his partner, who was riding on the back of the Harley Davidson Sportster.
Before learning his fate for vehicular homicide, Jesse Raymond Kling, 37, of the 1200 block of East Philadelphia Avenue, professed his love for his late girlfriend, 28-year-old Brittany Langevin, of Lower Pottsgrove, and claimed to be devastated by her death.
“Unfortunately, your actions proved otherwise,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein addressed Kling, adding, that he “showed no love for Brittany or any value for her life,” when he operated the motorcycle in a reckless manner on April 20, 2023. “If you truly loved her as you say, you would not have made those choices.
“Even at trial, you showed no remorse or love for Brittany,” the judge added.
Rothstein sentenced Kling to 9 to 20 years in a state correctional institution on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of a controlled substance, homicide by vehicle, DUI, possession of controlled substances, accidents involving death while not properly licensed and operating a vehicle without ignition interlock in connection with the crash on Ridge Pike in Limerick that killed Langevin.
A jury convicted Kling of the charges at a trial in March. After the jury rendered its verdict, Rothstein, who presided over the trial, convicted Kling of summary offenses including illegal racing, driving under suspension and careless and reckless driving.
The punishment included a mandatory 7-year prison term that prosecutors sought because Kling had two prior DUI convictions and a 2019 conviction for failing to use an ignition interlock. The judge also imposed several consecutive terms sought by prosecutors for some of the charges.
Before learning his fate, Kling, formerly of Phoenixville and East Vincent Township, apologized for his conduct, adding he was devastated by Langevin’s death.
“I’m so sorry. It happened in a matter of seconds. I can’t explain how I feel. I miss Brittany so much. I know she’s with me. I got to live with this. Saying I’m sorry isn’t going to cut it,” Kling said.
Assistant District Attorney Gabriella Eileen Glenning sought a prison term of 12 to 24 years against Kling, arguing his behavior only escalated since his first DUI conviction in 2007.
During the latest incident, Kling knew his license was suspended “and knew he should not be driving,” Glenning said.
“Additionally, his motorcycle lacked a speedometer, was not inspected, was not registered and was missing an ignition interlock device. Disregarding all of that, he still chose to get on the defective motorcycle while high on methamphetamine, risking not only his life but the lives of everyone else on the road that day,” Glenning argued in court and in a sentencing memorandum.
Glenning said such a crash “shakes the community’s sense of safety on our roads.”
“This defendant was a threat to the lives of every driver on the road that day,” argued Glenning, who handled the case with co-prosecutor Erin K. Russell.
In court documents, Glenning and Russell argued Kling had been given numerous chances to address his substance abuse issues, including attending 10 treatment centers between 2006 and 2023.
“Defendant has shown time and time again that he is not amenable to supervision or rehabilitation. Anytime throughout his life when he was released from incarceration or treatment, he continued to exhibit the same patterns of drug use and reckless driving behaviors,” Glenning argued.
County Chief Public Defender Christine Lora asked the judge not to impose more than the 7-year mandatory sentence that Kling faced.
“Jesse Kling is a man who has already learned more from this tragedy than can be taught in the carceral system,” Lora wrote in a sentencing memorandum, adding Kling’s remorse is sincere and that his suffering at the death of his partner has been “profound.” “He is decimated and not a day has gone by where Brittany and her absence has not been the epicenter of his thoughts.”
Lora argued Kling’s childhood was dysfunctional and unstable. Kling’s life began to spiral when he was a teenager as he struggled with an unchecked substance abuse issue and when he entered adulthood “the bottom really fell out,” Lora argued.
Lora said Kling wants to finish his high school education, learn a trade, deepen his faith and practice a commitment to sober living.
“There is no penalty that could ever be imposed greater than the one he bears every day. He has been forever changed,” Lora argued.
The crash occurred at the High Street connector to Ridge Pike in Limerick Township where eastbound High Street goes from two lanes to one lane as it prepares motorists for a merge onto eastbound Ridge Pike.
Testimony revealed the crash occurred as Kling and the driver of a Honda Accord, a 17-year-old girl, were attempting to outdistance each other at a merge point on High Street near the eastbound Evergreen Road underpass in Limerick.
Glenning argued during the trial that the operator of the Honda, after “a back-and-forth” between the vehicles, claimed the lane and Kling “didn’t give up and wasn’t done the race” and struck the rear of the Honda about 92 feet after the merge point. Langevin, who was not wearing a helmet, died on impact.
Kling did not testify during the trial.
But defense lawyer Craig Thomas Hosay, who represented Kling at trial, argued Kling had the right of way and that the inexperienced juvenile driver of the Honda was reckless because she should have yielded to Kling at the merge and therefore she was more culpable in the crash.
Hosay also argued that a prosecution medical expert did not offer proof or a conclusive opinion as to whether or not Kling was impaired at the time of the crash by the methamphetamine that was found in his system.
The driver of the Honda, who authorities alleged had a low level of marijuana in her bloodstream, previously was adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court on charges of vehicular homicide while DUI and DUI in connection with the crash, according to testimony. In juvenile court, offenders can be kept under supervision until they are 21.
The investigation began about 4:14 p.m. on April 20, 2023, when Limerick police responded to the crash. Arriving officers observed the motorcycle on its right side along a guiderail and the Honda on the southbound side of the shoulder near the merge with Ridge Pike, according to the criminal complaint filed by Limerick Police Sergeant Matthew Daywalt.
Langevin, who was the passenger on the motorcycle “was prone on the road surface with significant and obvious head trauma” and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to court papers.
“The cause of her death was determined to be multiple blunt impact injuries related to the crash,” said Daywalt, referring to an autopsy report.
Kling, the driver to the motorcycle, was conscious but did not provide an account leading up to the crash as emergency responders attended to him, police said.
“While removing his clothing to provide care, several bags consistent with illicit drugs and containing a substance having the appearance of heroin and another baggie containing a substance having the appearance of methamphetamine were discovered,” Daywalt alleged. “Kling was also in possession of unidentified blue pills.”
Kling was treated at Paoli Hospital after the crash.
The investigation determined Kling’s driving privilege was suspended in 2020 with an ignition interlock required. No ignition interlock device was on the motorcycle, police said. The motorcycle displayed a registration plate issued for another vehicle, and was not currently titled, insured or inspected, according to court documents.
Investigators obtained surveillance video footage from several businesses in the area that recorded the vehicles stopped for a red traffic signal at High Street and Rupert Road.
“They started eastbound accelerating and exchanging a back and forth with neither operator yielding to the other. At one point, the Honda is almost entirely ahead of the Harley Davidson prior to impact,” Daywalt alleged. “It was clear that Kling and (the juvenile Honda driver) had attempted to outgain, outdistance or prevent the other vehicle from passing or to arrive at the given destination ahead of the other vehicle.”
Investigators concluded that Kling drove “while under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs to a degree that impaired his ability to safely do so.”
