Driver pleads guilty to DUI in Chester County crash that killed mother of 5
WEST CHESTER — The driver of a car that crashed head-on into another vehicle on a busy highway, killing a mother of five who was on her way to work, pleaded guilty to felony charges in the case Friday.
Ismael Rodriguez will be sentenced at a later date on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and DUI by Chester County Common Pleas Court Judge Analisa Sondergaard, who accepted his plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
The lead charge, a second-degree felony, carries with it a mandatory sentence of three years in state prison. But there is a maximum of 10 years in jail for the crime.
The attorney for Rodriguez, 31, of Philadelphia, Thomas Egan III of Norristown, asked Sondergaard to order a drug and alcohol assessment ahead of sentencing.
Killed in the January 2023 crash on Route 422 in Tredyffrin near the King of Prussia Mall was 41-year-old Christine “Chrissie” Severino, 41, of Pennsville, N.J., who was formerly of Upper Darby. She was a graduate of Delaware County Community College and Widener University.
According to her obituary, Severino’s children — ages 9 to 22 — were the “loves of her life.
“Chrissie worked hard to give her kids the best life possible,” the obituary read. “Their best memories are of the family’s Shore trips to their new camper and hanging out with other family and friends on the boardwalk and beach, even taking along some of the neighbor’s kids. She loved all children as if they were her own.”
She worked as a pharmacy technician and put down roots in Eddystone Borough, Delaware County, where she raised her five children before eventually settling in Pennsville, NJ.
According to Deputy District Attorney Justin Roberts, who is prosecuting the case, the crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2023, on Route 422 near mile marker 191. Rodriguez was driving his vehicle eastbound in the westbound lanes and went through at least 11 different traffic signals, indicating he was driving in the wrong direction.
He collided with Severino’s on-coming car head-on, killing her instantly. When his blood was tested at the hospital, it showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.148 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent.
After an investigation of the crash, Rodriguez was arrested on May 9. He has been held in Chester County Prison on $50,000 cash bail since then.
After accepting the plea, Sondergaard asked Roberts whether any members of Severino’s family were present in the courtroom. Several of them were, the prosecutor said.
“I do want to express my sorrow for your loss,” the judge told them.
No date has been set for sentencing.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
View more on Mainline Media News