A 31-year-old Bensalem man who authorities say was high on drugs, has been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident that killed a Connecticut couple before he allegedly stole and crashed a dump truck in a failed get-away attempt.
John T. Wadlinger was arraigned Wednesday on three dozen offenses including multiple homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the Feb. 24 accident in Bristol Township. He is incarcerated at Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $20 million bail.
More on double fatal accidentCroydon man in custody for deadly weekend crash on Veterans Highway in Bristol Township
Bristol Township police allege Wadlinger had illegal stimulants in his system and a revoked driver’s license when he struck a Nissan Sentra at the intersection of Ford Road and Veterans Highway.
Two passengers in the Sentra, Richard Whiddon, 37, and his wife Rebecca, 33, of Brooklyn, Connecticut were pronounced dead at the scene.
Richard Whiddon’s body was found 20 feet away from the crash site and he was missing a leg, police said. An autopsy determined he died of multiple blunt injuries as a result of the crash.
Rebecca Whiddon died of multiple head injuries.
The driver and another passenger in the Sentra were taken to the hospital where they were treated for injuries. One surviving passenger required surgery and was hospitalized for eight days.
The Ford Explorer was found unoccupied in the eastbound lane of Ford Road; its driver’s side door open, the steering wheel airbag deployed and the front windshield damaged, the affidavit said.
A preliminary crash investigation determined that the Sentra was traveling west on Ford Road and attempting a left turn onto southbound Veterans Highway when it struck the rear passenger side of the Explorer, which was traveling east on Ford Road at a high rate of speed, the affidavit said.
The crash investigation found no evidence the Explorer attempted to brake before striking the Sentra. The crash investigation determined Wadlinger was traveling at a minimum speed of 73 mph as he approached the intersection, far above the 35-mph posted limit.
Witnesses told police that the Explorer’s lone occupant, a man, ran from the scene. A short time later police saw a man in a dump truck speeding near the 3000 block of Old Rodgers Road , which was not far from the accident scene, the affidavit said.
Police started following the dump truck with lights and sirens activated, but the truck did not pull over and instead accelerated toward Old Rodgers Road and Veterans Highway, the affidavit said.
At the intersection, the truck veered right, nearly striking another vehicle stopped at a red light, jumped the curb, wobbled before tipping over landing on the driver’s side, the affidavit said.
As police approached, the driver – later identified as Wadlinger – kicked out the front windshield and attempted to run but police apprehended him after a pursuit.
Police spoke to the truck owners who confirmed no one had permission to operate the truck the day of the accident, and it should not have left the yard where it was parked.
An eyewitness to the crash identified Wadlinger as the driver in the Explorer involved in the fatal crash, and other evidence tying Wadlinger to the accident including DNA samples taken from him and the Explorer, the affidavit said.
Blood samples taken from Wadlinger when he was in custody tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamines, the affidavit said.
A check of Pennsylvania Transportation records show Wadlinger’s driver’s license was suspended, expired and revoked through 2031, according to the affidavit.
In 2018, police said, Wadlinger was deemed a “habitual offender” as a result of three prior DUI convictions and a previous conviction for fleeting and eluding.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
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