Credit: U.S. Marshals Service
A woman wanted in connection with a wrong-way DUI crash that killed a Bristol motorcyclist on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension was arrested Wednesday morning.
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Members of the U.S. Marshals Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force took 25-year-old Onanyeli Rosario-Mesa into custody at an apartment in the 2700 block of Stanwood Street in Northeast Philadelphia.
Rosario-Mesa, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was sought by Pennsylvania State Police on charges, including homicide by vehicle while DUI, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment, according to authorities.
The charges stem from a March 30, 2025, crash on the Northeast Extension in Washington Township, Lehigh County.
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According to authorities, Rosario-Mesa was driving a 2019 Honda HRV southbound in the northbound lanes at approximately 9:09 a.m. when she struck two motorcycles in a group of six.
John Joseph Sweeney, 50, of Bristol, was operating a 2016 Harley Davidson and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio.
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A second motorcyclist, a 24-year-old Bristol man, was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest for treatment of injuries.
After the crash, according to reporting from WFMZ-TV, Rosario-Mesa allegedly told officers, “It’s all my fault, I was tired and falling asleep. I thought I bumped into something and then woke up.”
When asked if she had been drinking before the fatal crash, she allegedly told state police she had consumed “two or three shots of tequila.”
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The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for her arrest on April 7.
The case was delegated to the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Allentown after Rosario-Mesa failed to surrender.
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The arrest came after an anonymous tip received Tuesday evening stated Rosario-Mesa was hiding with her boyfriend, federal authorities said.
Investigators from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia and Allentown arrived at the apartment around 11 a.m. Wednesday and arrested her without incident.
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“No action can reverse this senseless tragedy, but I hope that today’s arrest represents progress in delivering justice for the Sweeney family,” said Robert Clark, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal.
Rosario-Mesa was transported to the Pennsylvania State Police Troop T’s Pocono Barracks for processing and preliminary arraignment.
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.
