A truck driver has avoided a homicide charge in the death of a pedestrian on Route 309 in Coopersburg last year.
Kirk Chin Jr., 37, of Pottstown, was charged Thursday with recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving in the death of 35-year-old David Mayers of Lower Macungie Township. The charges are misdemeanors.
In a news release, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said Chin was at the wheel of a northbound tractor-trailer around 3:30 a.m. April 13 when he struck Mayer, who was crossing the highway near 3rd Street.
Based on data from the tractor-trailer, Chin was travelling around 48 mph in a zone that is posted at 55 mph and transitions to 35 mph.
Video from the interior of the vehicle shows Chin was driving with his head back and his eyes closed. He did not react or open his eyes until after his tractor-trailer struck Mayers, the release said.
Video from nearby businesses shows Mayers, dressed in dark clothing, walking with a cellphone in his right hand. Lighting was poor, limited to ambient light coming from businesses. At the point that Mayers became visible to Chin, there was insufficient distance for the tractor-trailer to stop, investigators determined.
The DA’s office said evidence shows Chin’s inattentive driving endangered others, but Mayers’ crossing of the dark highway in dark clothing, when the truck’s headlights would already have been visible, was also a factor in the crash.
The evidence did not support a charge of homicide by vehicle, the office said.
Chin surrendered Thursday and is free on $25,000 unsecured bail.