LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - A central Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a fatal accident last year in which authorities said he was texting while driving.
Twenty-four-year-old Phong Chadd Pham of Lancaster pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter and summary charges of disregarding a traffic lane, prohibiting text-based communications and reckless driving. Prosecutors dismissed a third-degree felony charge of homicide by vehicle.
Authorities said Pham crossed the center line on a curve on Route 222 in Strasburg Township and collided head-on with a vehicle driven by 78-year-old Eva Kunkle in July 2015.
The New Providence woman, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. Pham was seriously injured but he survived.
Authorities said phone records indicated that Pham had been text messaging immediately prior to the accident.
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