Two teens killed a Willow Grove woman after crashing into her car while drag racing, DA says

Two teenagers drag racing on Bethlehem Pike in Hatfield have been charged with homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment, and related crimes for causing a high-speed crash that killed a 62-year-old woman last May, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Evan Buckman and Aidan Jarrett, both 19, were driving their sports cars recklessly at more than 100 mph on the night that Jarrett crashed into a Nissan Frontier in which Ida Lillo, of Hatfield, was riding, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.

Buckman, of Pennsburg, and Jarrett, of Quakertown, surrendered to police Monday after arrest warrants had been issued for them following a nearly yearlong investigation into the incident. They were released on $50,000 unsecured bail, a condition of which bars them from driving.

Buckman’s attorney, Matthew Quigg, said that his client is a “good, hardworking young man” who is still upset about the crash, which Quigg called a tragic accident.

“It’s still early on in process, and we’re going to take everything one step at a time,” Quigg said. “We’re looking forward to addressing the charges moving forward.”

Jarrett’s attorney, Gregory Mitsch, declined to comment.

When officers from Hatfield arrived at the crash scene on May 17, they found Jarrett’s Mitsubishi Lancer severely damaged, with its engine on fire, the affidavit said. The Nissan, driven by Lillo’s husband, Louis, had also been destroyed, pushed onto its side and rolled through the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Bergey Road.

Police said the Mitsubishi had T-boned the Nissan, slamming into its passenger-side door as the Nissan was making a left turn onto Bergey Road. An airbag sensor taken from the ruined Mitsubishi showed that the car had been traveling at 110 mph at the time of the collision.

The posted speed limit on that stretch of road is 55 mph.

Lillo sustained catastrophic injuries and was taken to Grand View Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, the affidavit said. Her husband also suffered serious injuries in the collision.

In a brief statement to police, Jarrett admitted he had been speeding. When asked how fast he was going, Jarrett said “uhhh pretty fast … a hundred,” according to the affidavit.

Detectives found surveillance footage of the crash from two nearby businesses that showed the Mitsubishi driving much faster than other traffic on the road. As the car neared the intersection, it was clear that Jarrett tried to brake and avoid hitting Lillo’s Nissan, but was unable to, the affidavit said.

Witnesses told police the Mitsubishi, as well as a Nissan 350z driven by Buckman, had passed their cars “like [they] were standing still,” and that the two were driving aggressively, tailgating cars and weaving in and out of traffic, according to the affidavit.

The two drivers looked like they were racing each other, those witnesses said.

A passenger in Buckman’s car later told police that he, Buckman and Jarrett had been “just hopping around town, driving aimlessly” in the hours before the crash, according to the affidavit. The teen said that was common practice for the group.

“There’s nothing really to do,” he said. “We just kinda drive around for fun.”

Buckman, in a statement to detectives, said he and Jarrett had arranged to meet each other at a Sunoco on Route 309 after being separated while traveling to a Marshall’s store in Montgomery Township.

But detectives said Buckman was “unable to provide any reasonable explanation” for why he and Jarrett arranged to meet at an intermediate location if they were driving separately to their final destination.