ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Whitehall Township man was charged seven months after authorities say he hit and killed a 75-year-old man with his car on Christmas Day.
Etienne Theagene, 47, turned himself in Thursday to face a felony charge of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Theagene is accused of fatally striking Edward Tomcics about 6:50 p.m. Dec. 25 on Water Street in Whitehall.
Tomcics, a Marine veteran known as “the Water Street mayor,” died later that day at a local hospital.
Theagene was released Thursday on unsecured bail of $25,000, according to court records.
He’s due back in court Sept. 28 for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Todd Heffelfinger.
Monthslong investigation
Authorities charged Theagene after inspecting his vehicle, reviewing surveillance footage and conducting a visibility study.
That study showed Theagene would have had time to see Tomcics crossing the street if he was driving at the posted speed limit of 25 mph, the district attorney’s office said Thursday.
“My father should still be here. These people just drive way over the speed limit. We’ve complained to the township for years, but nothing is ever done."Marcia Pacchioli, daughter of Edward Tomcics, in January
Tomcics’ family, friends and neighbors say Water Street, which runs along the Lehigh River, is plagued by speeding vehicles.
“My father should still be here," Tomcics’s daughter, Marcia Pacchioli, told LehighValleyNews.com.
"These people just drive way over the speed limit. We’ve complained to the township for years, but nothing is ever done.”
They packed a township board of commissioners meeting in January to urge officials to crack down on speeding on Water Street, a plea Tomcics made multiple times before he was hit and killed by a speeding vehicle.
Township Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr. pledged to address their concerns, noting officials were ordering speed control signs and would install jersey barriers at Eberhard and Lehigh streets.
Marx this spring said he was considering a temporary closure of Water Street while the township worked to develop a long-term safety plan for the unusually narrow street.
Water Street measures about 17 feet wide, with residences no more than 2 feet from the berm.
