Pennsburg man found not guilty of homicide by vehicle in fatal drag-race crash in 2023

A Pennsburg man involved in an illegal drag race that led to the death of a woman in 2023 was found not guilty of homicide by vehicle and related crimes, avoiding any prison time.

After a one-day trial, Montgomery County Court Judge Wendy Rothstein on Wednesday found Evan Buckman, 20, guilty of racing, reckless driving, driving at unsafe speeds, and exceeding the speed limit by 40 mph, said Kate Delano, spokesperson for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

All of those charges are summary offenses, punishable by fines but no jail time, Delano said.

Buckman was charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, and related crimes for his involvement in the crash on Bethlehem Pike in Hatfield that caused the death of Ida Lillo, 62, but a jury acquitted him of those charges.

The fatal crash happened the night of May 17, 2023, when prosecutors say Buckman was involved in an illegal drag race with Aidan Jarrett, 20, on Bethlehem Pike. Buckman’s attorney, Matthew Quigg, told jurors in his opening statement Tuesday that his client was not responsible for Lillo’s death and was merely trying to keep up with Jarrett and navigate roads that he was unfamiliar with.

Lillo’s death, Quigg contended, was caused by Jarrett losing control of his Mitsubishi Lancer while traveling twice the speed limit on Bethlehem Pike and T-boning a car driven by Lillo’s husband, Louis.

As Louis Lillo was making a left turn onto Bergey Road, Jarrett’s Mitsubishi slammed into the Nissan’s passenger-side door. An airbag sensor taken from Jarrett’s Mitsubishi showed the car had been traveling at 110 mph at the time of the collision, prosecutors said.

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

When officers arrived, they found Jarrett’s Mitsubishi severely damaged, with its engine on fire, according to court testimony. The Nissan SUV driven by Louis Lillo had been pushed onto its side and rolled through the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Bergey Road.

Ida Lillo suffered severe injuries, including a punctured lung and shattered ribs, and was taken to Grand View Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Her husband also suffered serious injuries in the collision and died earlier this year of unrelated causes.

Jarrett, 20, pleaded guilty in August to homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, illegal racing, and related crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Quigg said in court that Buckman and Jarrett had not made plans to drive recklessly together but were merely headed to the Montgomeryville Mall.

Assistant District Attorney Blair Rohlfing said Buckman was just as much at fault in the fatal incident as Jarrett, saying even though Buckman did not crash, he participated in the “breathtakingly dangerous crash.”