Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com
The 23-year-old man Falls Township police say killed a Lower Makefield woman when he was drunk at the wheel in October waived his rights to a preliminary hearing.
Michael Ahearn of Lower Makefield, along with his lawyer William Brennan, waived his rights to the hearing Tuesday afternoon before District Judge Jan Vislosky. Ahearn was taken back to the Bucks County Correctional Facility by constables and awaits a May 8 formal arraignment in Doylestown.
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Ahearn is accused by police of killing 23-year-old Kaitlin Abel during the night of October 30 when he drove the wrong way down Route 13 without headlights into oncoming traffic. According to the probable cause affidavit, Ahearn struck Abel’s vehicle head-on, pushing it into an embankment and leading to her death. Ahearn had to be freed from his vehicle by first responders, officials said.
Investigators wrote in court papers that Ahern had “full access” to alcohol located at the restaurant job he worked in the hours before the fatal wreck.
According to court papers, Ahearn had a blood alcohol level of .230 percent. The legal limit to drive is .08.
Credit: Submitted
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Abel was a graduate of Villa Joseph Marie and La Salle University. According to mutual friends, Ahearn and Abel knew each other and had previously worked together at Sesame Place in Langhorne.
Ahearn is charged with one felony count of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence (DUI), one felony count of homicide by vehicle, one misdemeanor count of DUI, one misdemeanor count of DUI with high rate of alcohol, six misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, and one misdemeanor count of involuntary manslaughter. In addition, Ahearn has been given tickets for reckless driving, driving at an unsafe speed, and not using his headlights.
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At a February 26 arraignment, Ahearn’s bail was set at 10 percent of $250,000; he’s served over five weeks in prison since his arraignment.
