{"id":81656,"date":"2026-01-08T20:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/81656\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T20:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T20:41:09","slug":"truck-driver-charged-in-fatal-route-309-pedestrian-crash-in-coopersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/81656\/","title":{"rendered":"Truck driver charged in fatal Route 309 pedestrian crash in Coopersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tractor-trailer driver was caught on video with his eyes closed before fatally striking a 35-year-old pedestrian in spring 2025 along Route 309<\/a>, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old man from Pottstown, Montgomery County is now charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment and summary reckless driving in the April 13, 2025 accident. The accident led to the death of 35-year-old David Andrew Mayers of Lower Macungie<\/a>, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The defendant was arraigned Thursday before District Judge Daniel C. Trexler, who set bail at $25,000 unsecured. Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and Coopersburg Police Chief Anthony Struss announced the charges Thursday. There was no attorney information immediately listed representing the alleged suspect.<\/p>\n

The accident happened just before 3:30 a.m. in the 300 block of South Third Street (Route 309). Mayers was pronounced dead about an hour later at the scene, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio had said.<\/p>\n

He died from blunt force injuries due to the collision and the death was ruled accidental by Buglio.<\/p>\n

An investigation by the Lehigh County Crash Reconstruction Team included multiple videos; a vehicle inspection of the tractor-trailer; interviews with several witnesses; a visibility study; and a full crash reconstruction, the DA\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n

Video footage secured from an area business and the tractor-trailer showed Mayers crossing mid-block along Route 309 from the direction of an Exxon gas station, 318 S. Third St., to the Executive Inn. There is no pedestrian crosswalk at that portion of the highway, the DA\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n

Mayers is shown on video \u201cwalking and talking\u201d with a cellphone in his right hand. He also was dressed in dark clothing with poor lighting during the incident, the DA\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the tractor-trailer driver was heading north on Route 309 in the right lane at about 48 mph, prosecutors said. The speed limit at this portion of Route 309 is posted at 55 mph, transitioning to 35 mph, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Surveillance video footage from the interior of the tractor-trailer showed the driver traveling with his head back and eyes closed, according to the DA\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did not react or open his eyes until after his tractor-trailer struck Mayers,\u201d the DA\u2019s Office states in a news release.<\/p>\n

The Lehigh County Crash Reconstruction Team\u2019s visibility study later determined the tractor-trailer\u2019s headlights would have been visible to Mayers as he began to cross Route 309 toward the Executive Inn. Mayers entered the tractor-trailer\u2019s lane of travel approximately three seconds prior to impact, according to the study.<\/p>\n

The visibility study also showed that up until that point, Mayers would not have been recognized as a pedestrian in the roadway to a driver in that location, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Mayers was approximately 200 feet from the tractor-trailer. A tractor-trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds traveling at 45-48 mph requires a total stopping distance of 273 feet. At the point, Mayers became visible to the tractor-trailer and there was insufficient distance for the tractor-trailer to stop, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

To charge the driver with vehicular homicide, the DA\u2019s Office would have to prove the suspect was the direct cause of Mayers\u2019 death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence clearly shows that inattentive driving endangered others on the roadway that morning,\u201d Holihan\u2019s office said. \u201cHowever, it also shows that Mayers\u2019 actions of crossing a dark Route 309, while dressed in dark clothing, and entering the path of the tractor-trailer was a factor in causing this crash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holihan\u2019s office said there is \u201cinsufficient evidence to support charges other than those that have been filed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defendant is due back in court for a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Jan. 23 before Trexler. A judge will then determine if there\u2019s sufficient evidence to send the case toward trial at the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tractor-trailer driver was caught on video with his eyes closed before fatally striking a 35-year-old pedestrian in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,40477,40478],"class_list":{"0":"post-81656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news","11":"tag-generic-police-lights","12":"tag-generic-police-sirens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81656","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=81656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}