Wife Remains In Vegetative State As Husband Makes Plea

While a 32-year-old woman remains under medical care in an unresponsive, vegetative state, her 32-year-old husband came before a judge Monday at the Justice Center in Doylestown.

Warminster resident Andrew Lawrence Ryan pleaded no contest before Bucks County Judge Brian McGuffin to charges of aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident involving death or injury, recklessly endangering another person, DUI, and reckless driving.

According to authorities, Ryan was “bickering” with his wife Robin Ryan while driving on Lincoln Highway just past Oxford Valley Road in Falls Township last July 24 around 5:30 p.m. when she flew out of her husband’s silver Ford pickup truck. She ended up on the hard pavement and was struck by the landscaping trailer attached to the truck he used for his business ALR Landscapes.

Witnesses told investigators they saw the pickup truck speeding and watched it swerve across Lincoln Highway in the moments before the 32-year-old mother of one hurtled from the cab.

Authorities said Robin Ryan was “bleeding profusely from the wound to her skull and her breathing was shallow” when they arrived. She also suffered an “obvious” leg fracture and a serious wound to the back of her head. Bystanders, including a nurse, jumped in at the scene and tended to Robin Ryan until medics arrived.

While police and medics were on the scene, Andrew Ryan was not. By the time authorities arrived he was gone, but he was pulled over a short time later on Trenton Road near Elmwood Road by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who heard the dispatch.

Deputy District Attorney Robert James told LevittownNow.com that Robin Ryan has not regained consciousness since the crash. In court, he said she is unable to move and sustained by feeding and tracheostomy tubes.

Prosecutors said they have evidence that Robin Ryan was clinging to a safety handle at the time she flew from the pickup truck. The handle broke off during the incident.

The couple had been drinking at a nearby bar before heading back to Warminster to pick up their young daughter. Andrew Ryan was intoxicated and admitted to detectives that he drank four beers and two shots of tequila before getting behind the wheel.

Andrew Ryan reportedly told police that the couple’s arguing became worse once they got in his pickup truck. Robin Ryan got out of the pickup truck outside a grocery before getting back in. She failed to fully close the door, causing the latch to not fully lock in.

The couple, according to their marriage license, has been married since August 2015. Robin Ryan has ties to the Levittown area.

James said that if Robin Ryan passes away due to her injuries, Andrew Ryan could be charged with homicide.

McGuffin increased Ryan’s bail to $500,000 cash at Monday’s court hearing.

The judge will sentence Ryan later this year.