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Murder charges dropped, refiled in crash that killed 2 Pa. troopers, man they were helping

This combination of photos provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows Trooper Martin F. Mack III, left, and Trooper Branden T. Sisca. who died in a March 2022 crash. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP, file)
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A woman accused of a drunken crash that killed two Pennsylvania State Police troopers and an Allentown man is once again facing murder charges in the deadly incident on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.

Jayana Webb, 22, of Montgomery County, was in court Wednesday for her preliminary hearing on third-degree murder and related charges stemming from the March 21 crash that killed Troopers Martin Mack III and Branden Sisca, and 28-year-old Reyes Rivera Oliveras, of Allentown.

All of the charges except three counts of third-degree murder were forwarded to commonwealth court for possible trial. The murder charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence, per Judge Karen Simmons, according to court records.

Soon after the hearing, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office refiled third-degree murder charges against Webb, according to ABC Action News.

Bail was initially denied in Webb’s case. On Wednesday, her bail was set to 10% of $600,000 but she remained behind bars after failing to post it, according to court records.

The night of the crash, the 33-year-old Mack and 29-year-old Sisca, both with the Troop K barracks in Philadelphia, stopped Webb on suspicion of DUI. Mack had served with Troop K since 2015, and Sisca enlisted in February 2021 and graduated last August.

While at the stop, the troopers were called after midnight for a man walking on I-95 south; the man was later identified as Oliveras. The troopers left Webb to respond to the pedestrian call, authorities said.

At about 12:45 a.m., the troopers found Oliveras walking in the left-hand lane on I-95 South before the Broad Street/stadium complex interchange.

The troopers got out of their SUV and were trying to put Oliveras into custody, when Webb, “traveling at a high rate of speed” between the center concrete barrier and the left lane, struck all three men, state police have said.

A man stands outside of a vehicle on I-95 southbound in South Philadelphia early Monday, March 21, 2022, after two Pennsylvania State troopers were killed in a crash that occurred on I-95 southbound in South Philadelphia. (Elizabeth Robertson | The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, file)

The troopers were thrown over the concrete median and into the northbound lanes of I-95, and responding troopers arrived to find witnesses attempting CPR on the injured men on the left side of road.

The troopers were pronounced dead at the scene, and Oliveras was also killed.

Webb hit the concrete barrier, continued a short distance and came to rest on the right-hand shoulder, state police said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.

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