QUINCY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Fayetteville woman faces homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter charges after state police said surveillance footage showed her driving through a stop sign and striking a Jeep that then hit and killed a woman near a roadside spring.
Sandi Lee Miller, 55, is accused of causing the July 2 crash at Tomstown and Mentzer Gap roads that killed Katina Espinosa, according to a criminal complaint signed Nov. 5.
Espinosa was standing near her parked vehicle on the eastern side of Tomstown Road and reportedly filling a water bottle at a natural spring when the crash occurred, according to court documents.
Investigators with Pennsylvania State Police in Chambersburg said footage from Blue Rock Church showed Miller’s white Hyundai Santa Fe slowly rolling through a stop sign on Mentzer Gap Road without stopping. The Hyundai then accelerated into the intersection and struck a silver Jeep Wrangler traveling north on Tomstown Road, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The impact caused the Jeep to spin and move toward the eastern side of the road, investigators said. Although the Jeep moved out of the camera’s view before its full contact with Espinosa could be seen, police said the footage and evidence at the scene established that the Jeep struck her following the initial collision.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office recorded Espinosa’s time of death as 4:04 p.m. July 2 and determined that she died of blunt force trauma.
Police were dispatched to the intersection about 3:44 p.m. A trooper who arrived about 4:03 p.m. found three damaged vehicles and Espinosa lying between the Jeep and a red Nissan Rogue.
The Hyundai had significant front-end damage and was partly in the northbound lane of Tomstown Road. The Jeep had extensive damage to its driver’s side, and the Nissan had significant rear-end damage, according to court documents. Investigators also documented tire marks and debris.
During an interview that afternoon, Miller told police she had been traveling east on Mentzer Gap Road and intended to continue straight across Tomstown Road. She said she was “pretty sure” she had stopped at the stop sign and did not see approaching traffic before entering the intersection at an estimated 10 mph, according to the affidavit.
Miller told investigators she could not remember whether she struck another vehicle or another vehicle struck hers.
The Jeep’s driver told police she was traveling north on Tomstown Road at an estimated 40 to 45 mph when a white vehicle struck her. She said she had been looking ahead and did not see the vehicle before the collision, according to court documents.
Police measured and photographed the crash scene. All three vehicles were towed to the state police impound lot in Chambersburg for further investigation.
Miller is charged with homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony; involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor; and summary offenses involving duties at a stop sign and failure to yield the right of way when entering or crossing a roadway.
The complaint alleges that Miller’s failure to stop and yield caused the collision that led to Espinosa’s death. The case is being handled in Magisterial District Court 39-3-07 in Franklin County.
The charges are allegations. Miller is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
