Croydon man was high and driving twice the speed limit in crash that killed Connecticut couple, DA says
John Wadlinger fled the scene of the fatal crash he caused in Bristol Township in February, prosecutors said. He was high on meth, driving without a license and speeding in excess of 73 mph.
Richard and Rebecca Whiddon were inseparable, high school sweethearts who shared a passion for science, nature, and exploring that they cultivated through eight years of marriage.
On Feb. 23, they died together when a driver who Bucks County prosecutors say was high on meth and driving twice the speed limit plowed his SUV into their vehicle during a visit to the area from their native Connecticut.
In the five months since, their absence has clawed at the hearts of those who knew them best. On Tuesday, some of the couple’s closest friends watched as prosecutors outlined the evidence against John Wadlinger, the man accused of killing the Whiddons, at his preliminary hearing.
“Does he know what he did? Does he know what he took?” asked Jessie Barr, who had known the couple for nearly 20 years. “Does he care? Probably not, because doesn’t seem like he cared very much for his life and his world.”
Wadlinger, 31, has been charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and related crimes in connection with the fatal crash on Veterans Highway in Bristol Township. After a four-hour hearing, Magisterial District Judge Kevin Wagner sent the case to a county judge.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Wadlinger was driving more than 73 mph at the time of the crash, fast enough that some witnesses later said the Ford Explorer he was driving appeared to be “flying.” Wadlinger then fled the scene, stealing a dump truck parked outside of a home nearby, which he then crashed as police pursued him, prosecutors said.
Evidence presented Tuesday showed that he has three previous DUI convictions, along with 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 At the time of the fatal crash, Wadlinger’s license had been revoked because of the previous DUI cases.
And, investigators said, the Ford Explorer’s registered owner had explicitly barred him from using his vehicle.
Bristol Township Police Officer John Nowicki testified Tuesday that the Explorer slammed into the Whiddons’ Nissan Sentra as its driver attempted to turn left onto Veterans Highway from Ford Road.
The impact of the collision was so severe that it sheared away nearly the entire passenger side of the Sentra. Its trunk was torn off and thrown 50 feet into a nearby parking lot, Nowicki said.
A video played in court showed Wadlinger getting out of the SUV immediately after the crash and sprinting away. Prosecutors said he never stoppedto check on the people he left behind.
Richard Whiddon, 33, was a master tinkerer. He could fix anything, friends said, and that talent saved them from car trouble many times on long road trips.
Whiddon was an avid photographer who took a particular interest in abandoned architecture. Like his wife, an inorganic chemist, he worked in STEM, 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, said Barr, who served as maid of honor on that day.
“The phrase ‘I can’t do this’ was never in Rebecca’s vocabulary,” Barr said. “She pushed all of her friends to be the best version of themselves. She wanted the same happiness she got to live through for everyone.”
The couple were visiting Bucks County for a friend’s wedding that weekend. Some of the last text messages they exchanged with their group of friends were to say that they had arrived at the venue for the celebration.
Months later, as Barr grapples with the loss of her friends, she said she’s looking to the courts for justice.
“I’m mad at someone I don’t know, I’ve wished horrible things on someone I don’t know,” she said. “I know at the end of the day, Becca and Rich would go miles to fight for justice for any of us, and we’ll do the same for them.”