A Slatington man recently was charged with homicide by vehicle and other offenses in connection with a Whitehall Township crash that killed his mother, who was a passenger in the car, and a woman and her teen son, who were in another vehicle.

John Edward Mayer, 32, of 6055 Bottom Road, Slatington, was charged Oct. 21 with three counts of homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony; three counts of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor; three counts of recklessly endangering other people, a second-degree misdemeanor; and summary offenses of driving at an unsafe speed, reckless driving, careless driving resulting in unintentional death and failing to stop at a traffic signal.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, at 6:10 p.m. Feb. 23, Whitehall Township Officer Richard Garner was on duty in his marked patrol vehicle and was stopped at a red traffic signal at MacArthur and Eberhart roads. Garner's vehicle was facing west on Eberhart Road, and a sedan was stopped in front of his patrol vehicle.

When traffic on Eberhart Road got a green signal, the sedan began to enter the intersection in an attempt to turn left, the affidavit says. A pick-up truck ran the northbound red signal, striking the sedan. Both vehicles traveled north of the intersection for more than 100 feet, according to the affidavit.

Garner immediately stopped his vehicle and tried to assist the occupants, the affidavit says. Garner then noticed a fire developing under the sedan containing two unresponsive occupants. Within seconds, the vehicle became engulfed in flames, preventing Garner from getting to the occupants, the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit, the occupants of the sedan – the driver, George Sanchez Gonzalez, 16, and his mother, Sharon Gonzalez, 42 – were killed.

Mayer, who was driving the pick-up truck exited his vehicle and was walking around. The front-seat passenger, Mayer's mother, Virginia Mayer, experienced life-threatening injuries. Mayer and his mother were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. Mayer was admitted for non-life-threatening injuries, the affidavit says.

Virginia Mayer died in July, and an autopsy determined that she died from complications resulting from massive blunt force trauma that was a direct result of the crash.

Several witnesses told police that the pick-up truck was traveling at a high speed and entered the intersection despite a steady red signal in his lane of travel.

At the time of the crash, the section of highway was under construction, and signs warned motorists. The maximum speed had been reduced to 30 m.p.h.

Whitehall Township police and the Pennsylvania State Police troopers/crash reconstructionists analyzed the roadway evidence, recorded data and verified measurements from the crash. Mark Nederostek, a Whitehall Township police officer and certified crash reconstructionist, determined the pick-up truck was traveling at a minimum speed of 86 m.p.h. at the time of the crash.