Homicide by Vehicle Dismissal Upheld After Multiple Appeals

A truck struck and killed a woman who was riding a bicycle and the District Attorney’s Office charged the driver with homicide by vehicle. A judge of the Court of Common Pleas quashed the charge, and the DA appealed. After the appeal was filed, the judge who originally quashed the charge reversed course and wrote an opinion encouraging the Superior Court to reverse it. The defendant’s attorney hired Sullivan | Simon to handle the defendant’s briefing. The Superior Court agreed with part of our argument and remanded to the lower court to receive more evidence. After receiving that evidence, the Court of Common Pleas judge again quashed the homicide charge. The DA’s Office appealed again. We handled the defendant’s briefing and successfully convinced the Superior Court to affirm. The DA sought re-argument, which we successfully fought against. The DA then petitioned for review to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. We again authored an opposition brief. The Supreme Court declined to review the case, and the DA’s Office dismissed all charges soon thereafter.