A Bucks County woman accused of speeding and running a red light in Allentown, leading to a crash that killed a city woman and one of her grandchildren, is now facing trial on the charges.
Maria Eiseman, 32, of Warminster, Pa., was in court Wednesday for her preliminary hearing on charges related to the Jan. 3 crash, including two counts each of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.
Christina Watkins-Rivera and her 7-year-old granddaughter, Yartezi Ramos, died following the collision at Fourth and Susquehanna streets in Allentown, and two other children were injured, authorities said.
7-year-old among 2 dead after Allentown car crash
Following Wednesday’s hearing, the charges against Eiseman were sent to Lehigh County Court, where she now faces possible trial.
Eiseman remains in county jail in lieu of $300,000 bail.
Prosecutors said Eiseman was northbound on South Fourth Street just after 10:30 p.m. and ran a red light at Fourth and Susquehanna streets.
Eiseman’s Ford Fiesta collided with the driver’s side of an Infiniti driven by the 47-year-old Watkins-Rivera. The three children in the car were Rivera’s grandchildren, prosecutors said.
Two witnesses testified they saw Eiseman’s car before the crash, and she was speeding, traveling in the opposite lane of traffic and had run a red light before the crash.
Both drivers came up to the crash after it happened, and Luis Raul Melendez testified he used scissors to cut two of the kids out of their seatbelts, but that Watkins-Rivera and her granddaughter appeared to have already died.
Watkins-Rivera and Ramos were taken to St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill and pronounced dead. The two other children, ages 7 and 8, were injured and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township.
Eiseman was also injured. She was taken to St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill and eventually released.
Police officer Craig Berger testified he spoke with Eiseman, who reported she was upset that night following an argument over child custody.
Eiseman said she had no idea where she was at the time, that she didn’t see the traffic light at the intersection, and the other car “came out of nowhere,” according to Berger.
A city traffic camera recorded the entire incident, and the video was shown to the district judge on Wednesday. The video shows that Eiseman had a red light, and that two vehicles traveled through the intersection before Eiseman’s car collided with the Infiniti.
Melendez testified Eiseman appeared to be driving about 100 mph when she passed him on South Fourth Street.
Allentown police Sgt. David McDonald testified that data taken from Eiseman’s car showed she was traveling between 70 and 107 mph about four minutes before the crash, between 65 and 85 mph about five seconds before the crash, and 65 mph in the 40 mph zone at impact.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
