Man held on DUI homicide charges in June death of 78-year-old

An Upper Darby man has been bound over for Common Pleas Court on all charges related to a fatal crash after he left a township bar in May.

John J. McGonigle III, 69, of the 200 block of North Lynn Boulevard, is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, DUI offenses for driving intoxicated on alcohol and marijuana, reckless endangerment, and summary offenses of careless driving, careless driving – unintentional death, and failing to yield to a pedestrian.

The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on May 29 at West Chester Pike and North Linden Avenue.

Upper Darby Sgt. Michael Taylor testified as a crash reconstruction expert during a preliminary hearing before District Judge Elysia Mancini Duerr on Wednesday that it was a sunny, clear day and the sun was still shining when the crash occurred.

Taylor told Assistant District Attorney Kaylyn Wigginton that he arrived on scene to find the victim, 78-year-old Frederic Kaplan, lying in the middle of the road suffering from significant head injuries.

McGonigle and his vehicle, a gray 2014 Honda Accord, were still on scene about a hundred feet up on Linden Avenue, Taylor said.

Taylor said he spoke with McGonigle briefly, who reported he had just left Skippy’s Tavern in the 8900 block of West Chester Pike and was making a left turn onto Linden when he noticed a pedestrian waiting to cross Linden.

The pedestrian was behind a black SUV and McGonigle said he slowed almost to a stop to allow the man to cross before he completed his turn, according to Taylor.

But McGonigle allegedly said his foot somehow slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal as Kaplan was crossing in front of him, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and strike him.

Taylor said Kaplan was unconscious when he arrived and was transported to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on June 4. Upper Darby Sgt. Daniel Connell said a medical examiner’s abstract indicated his manner of death was an accident and the cause was “multiple injuries.”

Connell said McGonigle had given him the same story about his foot slipping during an interview. McGonigle also allegedly said he had three drinks at the bar.

Connell said he collected footage from multiple surveillance cameras, one of which captured the Accord striking Kaplan. That video was played for the judge and was described in court as similar to McGonigle’s account of slowing for Kaplan before striking him, but was not visible from the gallery.

Officer Kyle Stabinski, one of the first officers on the scene, said he attempted to conduct field sobriety tests on McGonigle after the victim was attended to by paramedics.

He said McGonigle failed to follow directions for the first test, which involves following a pen with eyes only, then was unable to complete a straight line walking-and-turning test.

After taking four unsteady steps during the second test, Stabinski said McGonigle told him, “Just take me,” or words to that effect. Taylor said he also recalled McGonigle saying something like, “Take me in, I’m guilty.”

Stabinski said McGonigle did not attempt the third test, a one-leg stand. Stabinski and Taylor both said they noted an odor of alcohol coming off McGonigle. Stabinski said he also had bloodshot, glassy eyes.

Stabinski told defense counsel Baltazar Rubio that McGonigle had told him prior to performing the tests that he suffers from arthritis, but told the officer he was able to go forward with the tests.

McConnell said medical personnel performed a blood draw on McGonigle while he was in custody at the Upper Darby Police Department that showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.133% and marijuana metabolites in his bloodstream.

Taylor noted that testing has found an average sober driver has a normal reaction time of 1.5 seconds to shift their foot from one pedal to the other, while intoxicated people might take up to 3 seconds to do the same.

Lab results for McGonigle concluded he was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle given the substances in his bloodstream at the time of the crash, Taylor said.

Taylor also said there were no mechanical problems with the Accord and no issues with the roadway that would have contributed to the crash.

Rubio argued only the homicide while DUI charge at the hearing’s conclusion.

He claimed the commonwealth had not shown the necessary element for that charge that the crash was a “direct and substantial factor” in the victim’s death, even at this preliminary stage of prosecution where the burden is “more likely than not.”

Rubio pointed to his client’s arthritis in both legs as a potential factor, the one-page abstract of the medical report that only listed “multiple injuries” as the cause of death six days later, and the fact that McGonigle was able to see Kaplan behind the SUV well enough to wave him on to cross, which would require some acuity.

Duerr said she also found the abstract from the medical examiner’s office somewhat lacking, but agreed with Wigginton that the other factors at play, including a high BAC with marijuana metabolites and the fact that the victim died within six days of the crash satisfied the “direct and substantial factor” aspect of that charge.

McGonigle is scheduled for formal arraignment Nov. 18 at the County Courthouse in Media. He remains free on $10,000 cash bail.