A 21-year-old Palmyra man was sentenced Thursday, Dec. 26, by a Lancaster County judge for his guilty plea in charges related to a 2023 head-on DUI crash that left his mother dead and a driver of another vehicle seriously injured.
Gavin Meical Kline will spend up to 10 years in prison for causing the fatal crash.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2023, Kline, who was 20 at the time, attempted to pass a tractor-trailer in the westbound lane of Route 322 in Penn Township, Lancaster County, by entering the eastbound lanes in a no-passing zone. He crashed head-on into a cargo van.
Kline’s passenger and mother, 41-year-old Bethany Welch, was killed in the crash.
The driver of the cargo van suffered serious injuries to his body that required surgery and rehabilitation including broken ribs, a fractured vertebrae and multiple fractures in his foot and ankle, police said in a statement.
Prosecutor Kyle Linardo, a Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney, said in a statement that the driver of the cargo van “suffered very, very serious injuries” and that “his life has been altered” because of the crash.
Kline’s guilty plea came after an interview with police following the crash where he admitted to trying to pass the tractor-trailer and to using medical marijuana earlier in the day. A blood test showed he had 11-Hydroxy Delta-9 THC, Delta-9 Carboxy THC and Delta-9 THC in his system at the time of the crash.
Kline pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, three counts of driving under the influence, and nine summary traffic offenses.
He was sentenced by Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker to spend 40 months to 10 years in prison, along with more than $208,000 in fines and restitution.
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