BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Authorities say a man was driving recklessly in Bethlehem in a crash that left a pedestrian dead.<\/p>\n
Gian C. Bajandas Correa, 24, is charged with homicide by vehicle, accidents involving death or personal injury, reckless driving, accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property, driving vehicle at safe speed, traffic control signals, and driving roadways laned for traffic, the Bethlehem Police Department said in a news release.<\/p>\n
In a news release, Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio identified the pedestrian as Walter Lee Taylor III. He was pronounced dead Monday evening, Buglio said.<\/p>\n
Buglio said an autopsy will be completed Tuesday to assist in determining the cause of death.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem Police responded to the area of Daly Avenue and Wind Creek Boulevard for a crash involving a pedestrian around 4:05 p.m. Monday, city police said.<\/p>\n
City police say a vehicle traveling westbound on Daly Avenue had collided with another vehicle before hitting a pedestrian who was walking a bicycle within a marked crosswalk.<\/p>\n
The pedestrian suffered critical injuries and was brought to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to Bethlehem Police.<\/p>\n
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash suffered a minor injury, police said.<\/p>\n
After the crash, witnesses reported that the driver of the striking vehicle ran toward the Minsi Trail Bridge, according to the news release.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem Police officers found Bajandas Correa on the bridge a short time later, city police said.<\/p>\n
The Bethlehem Police Department\u2019s Major Accident Reconstruction Team is leading the investigation, which has included witness interviews, examination and reconstruction of the crash scene, and review of City-owned traffic camera footage, according to Bethlehem Police.<\/p>\n
The investigation determined that immediately before the crash, Bajandas Correa was allegedly operating his vehicle at a high rate of speed on Lynn Avenue before turning onto Daly Avenue, police said.<\/p>\n
Police said the vehicle crossed the double-yellow line to pass another vehicle and then lost traction while turning onto Daly Avenue, according to the news release.<\/p>\n
As part of the investigation, police say Bajandas Correa acknowledged using his cellphone while driving and using a controlled substance before driving the vehicle. According to court paperwork,\u00a0Bajandas Correa admitted to running a red light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A legal blood draw was conducted pursuant to a search warrant, and investigators are awaiting the results, police said.<\/p>\n
Police say traffic camera footage captured the vehicle headed westbound on Daly Avenue at a high rate of speed and sliding sideways through the intersection of Daly Avenue and Wind Creek Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Authorities said the vehicle hit another vehicle that was proceeding through the intersection before striking the pedestrian in the marked crosswalk.<\/p>\n
According to city police, Bajandas Correa was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Knisley.<\/p>\n
Bail was set at $250,000, and Bajandas Correa was committed to Northampton County Prison.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem police said the charges filed at this time are based upon the evidence currently available to investigators.<\/p>\n
After receipt and review of the blood test results, the charges may be amended to include additional offenses, if supported by the results and the ongoing investigation, according to the news release.<\/p>\n
The investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bethlehem Police Department extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim during this difficult time,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n
“The Lehigh County Coroner\u2019s Office & Forensic Center extends our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Taylor\u2019s family, friends, and loved ones. Our thoughts are with all those grieving his loss during this incredibly difficult time,” Buglio said in his news release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Authorities say a man was driving recklessly in Bethlehem in a crash that left a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,117700,41304,1017,61493],"class_list":["post-281612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-pedestrian-death","tag-reckless-driving","tag-traffic-accident","tag-vehicular-homicide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}