Driver charged with murder after fatal crash on I-95 in Bristol Twp.
BRISTOL, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police say a New Jersey man was charged Friday with third-degree murder for an early-morning crash that killed a passenger in his car on Interstate 95 in Bristol Township.
Investigators say that driver was fleeing police during a pursuit.
Twenty-three-year-old Arthur A. Lewis of Trenton, was also charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence in the death of 22-year-old Javairia M. Mahmood of Trenton.
Mahmood was a passenger in the front seat of the Acura sedan allegedly driven by Lewis when it struck a guardrail and concrete barrier before flipping onto its roof on the highway. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
There were also two passengers in the rear of the vehicle.
A 19-year-old victim was taken to Aria-Jefferson Health, Torresdale. The second victim, a 16-year-old, was taken to St. Mary Medical Center.
Officials say Lewis was fleeing state police troopers who tried to pull his Acura over.
Troopers reported seeing the Acura traveling north at a high speed near the Academy Road exit in Philadelphia around 12:36 a.m.
They caught up to the vehicle near Woodhaven Road and followed it for three-tenths of a mile, clocking its speed at 94 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone, according to the affidavit.
The troopers activated their emergency lights and siren near the Street Road exit.
The Acura pulled onto the right shoulder and slowed without stopping before racing off again at more than 100 miles per hour, the affidavit stated.
As troopers followed the car at a distance, they saw that its headlights and taillights were turned off as it passed several other vehicles.
Near the Bristol exit, the troopers saw a cloud of smoke and the overturned wreckage of the Acura.
Troopers found a bag of suspected marijuana on the ground outside the car and a bag of suspected cocaine inside the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Three bundles of suspected heroin also were found in a pocket of Lewis' jacket when it was cut off of him by EMS workers, the affidavit said.
Lewis' demeanor was described by police as slow and lethargic, and his eyes were bloodshot, the affidavit said, but he refused to submit to a chemical test of his blood.
He was admitted to St. Mary Medical Center, where he was arraigned and held without bail. He is being guarded at the hospital.
Police closed all northbound lanes of I-95 after the crash.
The road remained shut down for more than six-and-a-half hours as traffic was detoured off at Route 413.
All lanes were finally reopened by 7:30 a.m.
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