NORRISTOWN — Two men, one from Montgomery County and one from Bucks County, could face a trial as early as September on charges they were racing in their vehicles at speeds between 95- and 110-mph when they caused a crash in Hatfield Township that killed a Hatfield woman who was a passenger in another vehicle.
Aidan Thomas Jarrett, 19, of the 300 block of Erie Avenue, Quakertown, Bucks County, and Evan Robert Buckman, 20, of the 4000 block of East Campbell Road, Marlborough Township, each appeared at their formal arraignment hearings in Montgomery County Court on Monday where they entered not guilty pleas to vehicular homicide and related charges in connection with the 8:41 p.m. May 17, 2023, crash on Bethlehem Pike and Bergey Road in Hatfield Township that killed 62-year-old Ida Lillo of Hatfield and seriously injured the driver of the vehicle in which Lillo was a passenger.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein said she wants to hold the four-day trial in September. Deputy District Attorney Thomas W. McGoldrick, chief of trials, said he needs to consult with his witnesses for their availability before the judge sets the exact September date.
Defense lawyer Matthew Quigg, who represents Buckman, and defense lawyer Gregory Francis Mitsch, who represents Jarrett, told the judge they would be available for trial during the third or fourth weeks of September.
Buckman, who was 19 at the time of the crash, and Jarrett, who was 18 at the time of the crash, did not address the judge on Monday and allowed their lawyers to speak on their behalves. The pair was supported in court by family members and they remain free on $50,000 unsecured bail to await their next court hearings.
Specifically, Buckman faces trial on charges of homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering other persons, illegal racing, speeding and reckless driving in connection with the incident.
Jarrett faces identical charges and an additional charge of simple assault.
With the charges, investigators alleged Jarrett was speeding while racing with Buckman southbound on Bethlehem Pike, when the front bumper of Jarrett’s vehicle struck the passenger side door of a vehicle in which Lillo was a passenger.
The investigation began when Hatfield police responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash at Bethlehem Pike and Bergey Road between a red 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer, operated by Jarrett, and a silver 2015 Nissan Frontier, operated by Louis Lillo III, with Ida Lillo as a passenger, according to the criminal complaint filed by Hatfield Township Police Officer William J. Summerfield.
“As a result of this impact, the Mitsubishi sustained severe front-end damage and had a fire ignite in the engine compartment. The Nissan sustained severe damage to the passenger side front door area, to include heavy intrusion into the passenger compartment, and proceeded to lift up off of the ground and rotate before rolling through the intersection,” Summerfield alleged in the criminal complaint, explaining the Lillo vehicle came to rest on the southwest corner of the intersection on the driver’s side and both occupants were trapped inside.
As a result of the impact, Ida Lillo was thrown from the passenger seat into the driver’s seat of the Nissan and suffered “catastrophic injuries” and she was transported to Grand View Hospital’s trauma center where she died of her injuries.
Louis Lillo, the driver of the Nissan, suffered serious injuries, including fractures and lacerations, police said.
A third vehicle, a yellow Nissan 350Z operated by Buckman also was at the scene, but was not damaged, police said.
At the scene, Jarrett allegedly told arriving officers that he “was driving over the speed limit.” When asked to estimate his speed, Jarrett allegedly responded, “uhhh pretty fast,” and “Uhhh a hundred,” according to the criminal complaint
Police recovered video surveillance footage from two area businesses that recorded the crash.
Relying on witness interviews and the surveillance video, investigators determined the vehicles operated by Jarrett and Buckman were racing at high speeds prior to the fatal crash. One witness traveling 55 mph told police the red Mitsubishi “passed me like I was sitting still” and another witness indicated when the Mitsubishi passed her it “made her care shake,” according to court papers.
Video surveillance footage showed that at about 8:39 p.m. the vehicle occupied by the Lillos was traveling northbound when it began to turn left from Bethlehem Pike onto Bergey Road. Jarrett’s Mitsubishi, traveling southbound, crashed into the Nissan, striking its passenger side door with such force that it caused the vehicle to flip onto its side and travel through the intersection.
Two seconds after the crash, Buckman’s Nissan vehicle passed the crash and started to brake and then pulled over into a nearby parking lot.
A post-crash inspection of Jarrett’s Mitsubishi found no mechanical issues that could have contributed to the crash. Data from the Mitsubishi’s airbag device showed that at 4.9 seconds before the crash, the Mitsubishi was travelling at 110.6 mph in the 55-mph zone.
Following analysis of the video surveillance, crash investigators calculated that the yellow Nissan operated by Buckman was travelling about 95 mph at one point during the racing incident, according to court documents.
“The reconstruction of the crash found the speed of the red Mitsubishi caused this crash,” Summerfield alleged, adding the speed at which Jarrett allegedly was traveling “was not reasonable and prudent for the roadway” and was being operated with “a complete reckless and wanton disregard for the safety of other persons or property.”
“Based on my investigation, I believe both Mr. Jarrett and Mr. Buckman were traveling together to demonstrate the speed of their vehicles and to race their vehicles on a highway,” Summerfield alleged.
