POTTSTOWN PA – The 18-year-old Pottsgrove High School man who drove the sports utility vehicle involved in a Dec. 12 (2009) accident, in which Pottstown High School students Breanne Brothers and Andrea Antonio-Harris were killed, has been charged with homicide by vehicle and other offenses, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday (Dec. 29) on its website.
A Facebook memorial page contains 21 photos of the two girls who died earlier this month.
The charges came on the same day in which the family and friends of Antonio-Harris gathered at a Pottstown church to remember her in a memorial service.
Police say Thomas Andrew Kocon “was driving nearly 20 miles over the 55-m.p.h speed limit on Route 100 in Upper Pottsgrove just before midnight when he wrecked the 2003 Durango,” Inquirer reporter Derrick Nunnally wrote in a story posted late Tuesday. An affidavit of probable cause was filed earlier in the day, charging Kocon with two counts of homicide by vehicle and five counts of recklessly endangering others.
Kocon was taken to the Montgomery County (PA) Correctional Facility; his bail was set at $50,000. His re-appearance in court for a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 8 (2010).
The office of Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, which had previously issued two news releases about the accident investigation, had not posted an official announcement of the charges by Tuesday at 9 p.m.
The vehicle reportedly was owned by Kocon’s father. Earlier reports that the vehicle was uninsured at the time apparently have been confirmed.
Montgomery County prosecutors allege the driver “had refused to put the Durango’s rear seat down,” which kept passengers in the rear from buckling their seat belts, The Inquirer story said. Two other girls, students of Pottsgrove High and Boyertown Junior High schools, respectively, were injured in the accident and later hospitalized.
Other resources:
- Pottstown Teen Behind Bars for Role in Fatal Car Crash (KYW-AM, Philadelphia PA)
- Driver Charged In Crash That Killed Two Fellow Teenagers (WFMZ-TV, Allentown PA)
- Teen driver charged in crash that killed two girls (The Mercury, Pottstown PA)
- Thomas Kocon (Pottstown’s Blog. Editor’s note: this is a local blogger’s expression of opinion, and not a news article.)
Related:
- Accident Driver Uninsured, TV Report Claims
- Services Set For Pottstown Accident Victim
- Candles Flicker In Students’ Memorial
- Dealing With Grief In Accident Aftermath
- Two Killed, Others Injured in Route 100 Accident
Screen shot from Facebook.com
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