Credit: James Short.
Abraham Diaz, 42, of Norristown, is facing a felony charge after allegedly being involved in a car accident in Whitpain Township that caused serious injuries to occupants in the other vehicles involved in the crash, according to police.
The Whitpain Township Police Department investigated the incident, which occurred on April 9 in the area of Skippack Pike and Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, and determined that a blue BMW X2 drove into the westbound lane of Skippack Pike, At this time, while traveling eastbound in the wrong lane, the BMW collided head on with a white Dodge Durango, according to police.
The husband of the driver of the Durango, who was traveling behind his wife in his own vehicle, a red Dodge Ram pickup truck, told police that he saw an unknown vehicle pass the blue BMW before the crash occurred, according to police.
Through further investigation of the incident, police determined from witness statements that there was a third vehicle involved that could have caused the crash, but that vehicle was not damaged and fled the scene prior to emergency personnel arriving.
Utilizing exterior video surveillance and a license reader program, police determined the third vehicle to be a dark red Jeep Compass, registered to Diaz, according to police.
On Friday April 11, two days after the crash, Diaz voluntarily met with police to provide a statement of what occurred. At the time of the accident, Diaz told police that he was involved in the incident by admitting that he shined a flashlight with a strobe light outside of his driver side window in the direction of the blue BMW X2, according to police.
Diaz also admitted to police that he fled the scene and did not contact police.
Witnesses at the scene reported to police that Diaz was attempting to pass the blue BMW on Skippack Pike, and the driver of the blue BMW was preventing Diaz from passing, according to police documents. After Diaz eventually did pass the blue BMW, Diaz began to “brake check” the BMW while also shining the flashlight backwards in the direction of the BMW.
As both vehicles approached the intersection of Skippack Pike and Penllyn-Blue Bell Pike, the blue BMW attempted to pass Diaz by swerving into the opposite lane, where it struck the Dodge Durango head on, according to police.
A passenger in the blue BMW suffered a broken neck and a broken leg as a result of the crash, according to police. The operator of the blue BMW sustained left side hip pain; and the operator of the white Dodge Durango suffered body soreness from the impact of the crash, according to police.
Diaz is facing felony charges of aggravated assault by vehicle and accidents involving death or personal injury, among other charges.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
