Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A Falls Township woman has been charged in connection with a fatal crash that occurred along Route 13 earlier this year.
Deseree Davis, 33, of Falls Township’s Levittown section, was preliminarily arraigned last week on charges of accident where victim dies, accident involving death while not licensed, driving without a license, driving at an unsafe speed, and careless driving caused unintentional death.
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Davis, according to Bristol Township police, was behind the wheel on Friday, April 8 when she struck Ronald Grishaber, 51, in the northbound lanes of the 6900 block of Route 13, which sits not far from the Edgely Road intersection. A passerby called the crash into police around 11:15 p.m.
According to court papers filed recently, Grishaber was found deceased at the scene and suffered gruesome injuries. No striking vehicle was located at the scene.
Officers were able to locate several vehicle parts that were linked to a 2014 to 2017 model year Cadillac XTS, police said.
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While at the scene around 12:21 a.m. the next day, officers received word through dispatch that a Falls Township woman at the Pennsbury Woods Apartments called to report her daughter was involved in a crash while driving a Cadillac on Route 13. The woman reported her daughter said she hit something and it flew across her vehicle, police said.
Bristol Township officers arrived and met with Falls Township officers at the apartment complex. They found a black 2015 Cadillac with front driver-side damage that matched the vehicle pieces recovered at the scene, police said.
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Also on the car, officers spotted a cracked windshield and blood smeared down the window, police said.
In court papers, an investigator noted an odor of alcoholic beverage was coming from the area of the vehicle.
Police said they took samples of the blood from the vehicle for DNA testing.
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A tow truck removed the Cadillac from the complex and moved it back to the Bristol Township police station as evidence, police said.
Investigators then spoke Davis, whose mother had called dispatch to report the crash, and she reported she was on Route 13 after returning from selling food in Bristol Township when the crash occurred, police said.
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Davis reported that an object, which she believed to be a deer, ran in front of her vehicle from the right side of Route 13. She said she stopped to check and didn’t see anything and then continued to drive home, police said.
In court papers, Officer Paul Aita wrote that video of the entire crash was obtained from a business security camera nearby. It reportedly shows the Cadillac striking the pedestrian, not stopping within more than 200 feet of the crash site, and continuing.
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Davis is also accused of driving the striking vehicle without a license at the time of the crash.
Davis’ bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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