North Wales man faces prison for DUI crash that killed Trappe woman

NORRISTOWN — A North Wales man must report to prison next month to begin serving several years behind bars after he admitted that he was driving while intoxicated at the time of a two-vehicle crash in Collegeville, killing his fiancée, a Trappe woman who was a passenger in the vehicle.

John Robert Rufe, 64, of the 400 block of School Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 3 to 6 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, DUI and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with the Nov. 6, 2020, crash at East Main Street and Clamer Avenue in Collegeville.

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein imposed the sentence as part of a plea agreement. The sentence included a three-year mandatory sentence, allowable by state law for a conviction of homicide by vehicle while DUI, and sought by prosecutors.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Mills handled the prosecution.

“It was important to seek the mandatory because it’s a very serious offense. It reflects the serious nature and the significant impact his actions had on many people’s lives. His actions, his decisions, took the life of another person,” Mills explained, adding the sentence is a reminder to others about the danger and ramifications of drinking and driving.

“I hope it makes people think twice before they get behind the wheel because not only are you risking other people’s lives on the road, you are risking your passengers’ lives. I hope it sends a message,” Mills said.

Under the plea agreement, Rufe must turn himself in to prison officials at 9 a.m. June 29 to begin serving the sentence.

The crash claimed the life of 57-year-old Margaret Ann Berman of Trappe, who was a passenger in Rufe’s vehicle.

Defense lawyer Brendan Campbell said Rufe is extremely remorseful and is suffering great grief.

“It’s the definition of a tragedy. He had a long, loving relationship with the victim and it’s been mentally tortuous for him over the last year and a half since this happened, living day in and day out with this tragedy,” Campbell said on Rufe’s behalf.

The investigation began about 9:13 p.m. Nov. 6 when Collegeville police responded to the intersection of Main Street at Clamer Avenue for a report of a two-vehicle crash with entrapment involving a 2018 Ford Mustang GT operated by Rufe and a Range Rover operated by an Eagleville man, according to court papers.

Berman, the front seat passenger in Rufe’s Mustang, was transported to Einstein Hospital Montgomery and later transported by medical helicopter to a trauma unit at Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia where she was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m. Nov. 7.

An autopsy subsequently determined Berman died of multiple blunt impact injuries to the head and torso.

The driver of the Range Rover and two passengers in his vehicle were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the crash and they all obtained medical treatment the following day at a care facility, according to investigators.

Rufe was transported to Paoli Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

While attending to Rufe, officers at the scene of the crash detected a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Rufe, according to the criminal complaint filed by Collegeville Detective Gerard Milburn and borough Police Officer Bret Davis.

The crash investigation determined that the Mustang operated by Rufe exited a driveway from a restaurant in the 400 block of Main Street, turned left and traveled westbound on Main Street, according to the criminal complaint.

One witness told detectives that he heard the Mustang begin to “let it rip” as it began to go through the gears with “squealing tires during acceleration,” and then observed the Mustang slide sideways and enter into the opposite lane of travel, according to the criminal complaint.

While proceeding westbound, Rufe’s vehicle began to rotate in a counter clockwise manner and “the vehicle entered into a side slide rotation due to the amount of steering and acceleration input being applied by the operator,” investigators alleged.

As Rufe’s vehicle attempted to proceed around a slight left curve in the roadway it entered the eastbound lane of travel. The front passenger side door of Rufe’s Mustang struck the front of the eastbound Range Rover, according to the criminal complaint.

The crash data retrieved from the Mustang’s airbag control module showed that at 1.5 seconds before the crash the vehicle was traveling at 55.7 mph, where the speed limit is 30 mph, and no brakes were applied, according to the criminal complaint.

Brakes were then applied at one second before impact, authorities alleged. The crash data also indicated that the Mustang’s traction control system, which engages automatically upon ignition in order to prevent the vehicle from going into a spinning side slide during acceleration, had been manually turned off, detectives said.

Toxicology tests conducted on Rufe’s blood showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.132%, above the legal limit of 0.08%.

Crash investigators determined the crash was related to the combination of the level of Rufe’s impairment and the speed and manner in which Rufe was operating the vehicle.

“The nature of this crash and forces exchanged within the crash support the findings that John Rufe was operating his vehicle at an excessive speed under internal heavy acceleration testing the physical endurance of his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol,” investigators wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Rufe operated his vehicle with “extreme recklessness and carelessness at a speed well in excess of the posted speed limit and while impaired by alcohol” and those actions resulted in Berman’s death and endangered the lives of the three occupants of the Range Rover, authorities alleged.

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