Bucks County man admitted he was high on meth and speeding when he caused a crash that killed a Connecticut couple
John Wadlinger admitted he was driving at more than twice the speed limit on Veterans Highway in Bristol Township when he caused a crash that killed Rebecca and Richard Whiddon.
A Croydon man admitted Thursday to driving at more than twice the speed limit on Veterans Highway while high on methamphetamine in February, causing a crash that killed two people and seriously injured a third.
John Wadlinger, 32, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and related crimes in connection with the Feb. 23 crash that claimed the lives of Richard and Rebecca Whiddon, a Connecticut couple visiting Bucks County for a friend’s wedding.
After running from the scene of the crash, Wadlinger stole a dump truck parked behind a nearby home and led police on a brief chase before crashing that vehicle as well.
Bucks County Court Judge C. Theodore Fritsch Jr. deferred Wadlinger’s sentencing for 60 days but noted that the two charges of homicide by vehicle while DUI carry a mandatory minimum of 14 years in state prison because of Wadlinger’s history of DUI convictions.
Prosecutors said that Wadlinger was driving more than 73 mph when he approached the intersection of Veterans Highway and Ford Road in Bristol Township, fast enough that some witnesses later said the Ford Explorer he was driving appeared to be “flying.”
He slammed the vehicle into a Nissan Sentra being driven by a friend of the Whiddons’, striking its passenger side. The Nissan’s driver was attempting to make a left turn and had the right of way.
Had Wadlinger not been speeding, the crash likely could have been avoided, prosecutors said.
The impact of the collision was so severe that it sheared away nearly the entire passenger side of the Nissan. The Whiddons, who were sitting in the front and rear passenger seats, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Another passenger in the vehicle sustained serious injuries to her lungs and spleen, and was hospitalized for several days following the crash.
Video recorded at the scene showed Wadlinger getting out of the SUV immediately after the collision and sprinting away. He never stopped to check on the people he left behind, prosecutors said.
A distinctive Harley-Davidson jacket that Wadlinger often wore was found at the scene. A DNA sample taken from inside the Ford Explorer was a match to him, according to evidence presented Thursday.
Wadlinger’s criminal record includes three previous DUI convictions, five convictions for driving with a suspended license, and other convictions for aggravated assault, theft, and drug offenses. At the time of the fatal crash, Wadlinger’s license had been revoked because of the previous DUI cases.
Friends of the Whiddons have described them as a talented, outgoing couple who shared a love of science.
Richard Whiddon, 33, was an avid photographer who took a particular interest in abandoned architecture. Like his wife, an inorganic chemist, he worked in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), programming biomedical machinery used in hospitals.
Rebecca Whiddon, 37, met her husband as a teenager, years before their 2016 wedding at a farm in Massachusetts, according to their loved ones.