UPDATED: 721 p.m., Monday:
A man with a lengthy criminal history is expected to be charged in relation to the double fatal crash that happened this past Saturday.
Sources told LevittownNow.com that the suspect is a 31-year-old man, who has recent addresses in Bristol Township’s Croydon section and Warwick Township. He was identified by 6abc as John Wadlinger.
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Bristol Township police Lt. Sean Cosgrove said the department was unable to name the suspect due to the Criminal History Record Information Act.
No charges had been filed against Wadlinger as of Monday evening, according to court records.
Lt. C.J. Winik earlier said the suspect was locked up on a probation violation following his arrest Saturday and charges related to the crash were pending.
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A law enforcement official confirmed that Wadlinger was booked into at the Bucks County Correctional Facility on Saturday.
A review of court records by this news organization found Wadlinger has arrests dating back to when he was 19 years old.
He had been arrested for a Bristol Township DUI in 2011 and again in 2017 by Warwick Township police. Later, he was arrested in other cases by the Pennsylvania State Police and Bensalem Township police. Most recently, he received a traffic ticket from Bristol Township police last month and one from Bristol Borough earlier this month.
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Among Wadlinger’s cases over the years, he served time behind bars and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol treatment. He also was ordered to serve on probation and had several probation violations through 2020, court records stated.
In the final months of 2023, Wadlinger was delinquent in money owed to the county related to his court cases.
Original Story:
As of Monday, police were working to unravel the sequence of events that led to two deaths and left two people with injuries on Saturday in a violent crash along one of the area’s busiest roadways.
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The crash took place at 1:32 p.m. at the intersection of Ford Road and Veterans Highway (Route 413) in Bristol Township and involved a black Ford Explorer and a 2019 red Nissan Sentra.
According to police, the Ford Explorer was driven by an unidentified male and was heading eastbound on Ford Road when it collided with the Nissan Sentra. The Nissan was in the process of turning left onto southbound Veterans Highway from westbound Ford Road, police said.
The impact of the collision was so fierce that two passengers in the Nissan were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
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The names of those killed were not released as of Monday.
The Nissan’s driver and another passenger sustained minor injuries and were transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment. Their conditions were unknown on Monday.
Following the crash, the driver of the Ford Explorer fled the scene on foot, police said.
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The fleeing driver then stole a dump truck and that led to another crash a short distance away on Veterans Highway near Old Rodgers and Wharton roads, police said.
The stolen truck overturned as the driver attempted to navigate a turn, police said.
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The driver fled the second crash on foot. However, Bristol Township officers were able to quickly apprehend him near the second crash site, police said.
“The suspected driver who fled was taken into custody for a probation violation and sent to Bucks County Correctional Facility. Charges are pending a complete investigation,” said police Lt. CJ Winik.
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The aftermath of the crashes caused Veterans Highway to be closed for several hours as drivers were redirected by fire police. The intersection was closed again Sunday afternoon for a follow up investigation.
In addition to police, Newportville Fire Company, Third District Fire Company, Bucks County Rescue Squad, Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad, and Bensalem Township Emergency Medical Services were on the scene.
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The Bristol Township Police Department has asked anyone with information about the crashes to contact lead investigator Officer John Nowicke at 267-812-3111 or via email at jnowicke188@bristolpd.org.
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