Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A former student at Bristol Township’s Bucks County Technical High School was convicted of vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter last week.
Michael Shelly, 18, of Bensalem, according to an Associated Press story posted on 6abc.com, was found guilty after a jury deliberated for three hours.
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Shelly was behind the wheel of a 1984 Ford Bronco II at the intersection of Bensalem Boulevard and Bridgewater Road in Bensalem shortly after sunrise on the morning of December 17. Shelly struck and killed f Bensalem High School sophomore 16-year-old Minete Zeka, police said.
Authorities said Shelly struck Zeka as she crossed the road while a school bus sat stationary nearby with its stop arms and lights activated. Court papers say Shelly told responding police, “I think I killed her.”
Responding officers said the Bronco’s windshield was covered in condensation. While speaking with police, Shelly said the defroster on the older SUV was not working and he was only able to see out of small portion of the windshield, according to court papers.
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“I had basically tunnel vision,” Shelly reportedly told police.
“I’m not calling him a killer, what I’m saying is that he ignored a risk that should be common sense to all of us,” Prosecutor Jonathan Long said in court, according to The Allentown Morning Call.
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Shelly’s attorney Louis Busico called the teen’s death “a horrific accident, not a crime,” the Associated Press reported.
Shelly’s Bronco was not registered with PennDOT and had fake inspection stickers, police said.
The crash happened on the same street where Bucks County Technical High School student Ryan Viola, 17, was struck as he crossed Bensalem Boulevard at Portside Drive in Fall 2012. No charges were filed in that case because the driver of the striking vehicle had a green light.
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Shelly’s sentencing has been deferred for 60 days.
