Pennsylvania State police said a driver accused of DUI is responsible for a deadly three-vehicle crash that killed two people and injured a third, shutting down part of I-95 for hours on New Year’s morning.
The accident happened around 3 a.m. when a minivan was stopped with a flat tire in the left lane when it was struck by a second vehicle.
A third vehicle, driven by Jessie Maiden, slammed into the second vehicle killing both people in the car and injuring another person.
State police said Jessie Maiden, the driver of the third vehicle, had a mixture of crack cocaine and marijuana in his system when his car slammed into the second vehicle carrying Maria Cox, 47, and Norman Wilkerson, 45.
Investigators said Maiden was driving at 80 miles per hour. Both victims were pronounced dead. A third person is in the hospital with a broken neck.
“I am so sorry…words cannot express…I reached for a cigarette and I don’t know what to say,” Maiden told reporters while being taken into custody Friday.
Family members said Wilkerson and Cox were heading home from a New Year’s Eve party. Wilkerson’s mother, Kathryn, said she first learned of her son's death from news reports.
“I called his cell, but when I saw the state police, I knew it was him,” said Kathryn Wilkerson.
