A Hellertown man has been charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and other offenses for allegedly causing a three-vehicle crash on Route 22 in Whitehall Township that killed a 34-year-old Allentown man.

Robert John Kritzar, 42, of 2305 Silver Creek Road, Hellertown, is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, a second-degree felony; homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony; two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol; involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor; recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor; and summary offenses of following too closely, driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed, and careless and reckless driving.

Kritzar was arrested in North Carolina on Sept. 4, and will face extradition proceedings, said District Attorney James B. Martin.

An affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police, Troop M, Bethlehem, alleges:

At 8:26 p.m. May 28, Pennsylvania State Police responded to the scene of a three-vehicle crash involving a Jeep Wrangler, a box truck and a tractor-trailer. All three vehicles were in the left lane of Route 22 westbound near the Lehigh River.

The box truck driven by Kritzar was embedded in the back of the Wrangler that had sustained severe damage. An emergency medical technician was attempting to give aid to the driver of the Wrangler who was trapped in the vehicle.

A Lehigh County deputy coroner pronounced the driver dead at 9:11 p.m. The driver was extricated from the wreckage at 9:30 p.m. and was identified as Nathan D. Warke.

The emergency medical technician told state police that he was traveling near Fullerton Avenue when he heard extremely loud tire screeching and impact sounds coming from Route 22. The technician said he pulled over and rushed to the scene.

The driver of the tractor-trailer told state police that he was traveling westbound on the highway when he had to brake hard because of traffic. He said he heard a collision from behind his vehicle and then heard and felt a second impact.

A trooper with the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit at Troop M, Bethlehem, examined evidence on the highway and the damage to the vehicles. The trooper determined that the victim's vehicle was behind the tractor trailer and braked in response to the tractor-trailer braking. The trooper determined that Kritzar's box truck, which was behind the Wrangler, failed to brake and struck the back of the Wrangler, propelling both the Wrangler and the box truck into the back of the tractor-trailer.

At 9:40 p.m. after the crash, the defendant's blood was drawn and taken to a laboratory.

An analysis determined that Kritzar's blood-alcohol content was 0.22 percent.