NJ Woman Charged With Murder In Crash That Killed Firefighter

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Charges have been upgraded against a New Jersey woman in connection with a crash that killed a firefighter as he responded to an accident on Interstate 76, authorities said.

Jacqueline Walker, 63, of Little Egg Harbor, now faces third-degree murder and other charges after authorities allege she struck and killed Lower Merion firefighter Thomas Royds in July.

Walker is also charged now with homicide by vehicle, four counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, nine counts of recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and related charges.

Walker was initially charged with homicide by vehicle-DUI; however, authorities withdrew the charge after toxicology tests showed Walker's blood contained no alcohol or drugs. Investigators said they later determined that the poor condition of Walker’s vehicle and her failure to make the necessary repairs ultimately led to the crash.

The upgraded charges come after the Pennsylvania State Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau conducted in a joint investigation into the crash and Walker's behavior leading up to it, and revealed new information.

The crash occurred at 3:23 a.m. July 24 on westbound Interstate 76 at mile marker 335. Royds and Lower Merion firefighters Alex Fischer and Sam Shaffer were called to the area earlier, at about 3:04 a.m., regarding an accident with injuries.

Crews were getting ready to leave the scene at about 3:23 a.m. when a car struck Royds, Fischer, Shaffer and a Pennsylvania State Police trooper.

The two cars were on the berm of the highway, while the fire truck — with all of its emergency lights activated — was parked in the right-hand travel lane, and a marked state police vehicle was in the same lane in front of the fire truck.

Orange cones were in place behind the fire truck that directed traffic into the left-hand travel lane of I-76. Responders were on the paved roadway and the berm between the fire truck and the two cars involved in the original crash. Vehicles were moving through the area at about 10 mph in the left-hand lane.

At 3:23 a.m., the 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Walker was traveling in the right-hand travel lane as she approached the emergency response area, then drove over the rumble strips that mark the travel lane and berm, drove on the berm and struck to Royds, Fischer and Shaffer at a high rate of speed, authorities said. Her vehicle then squarely hit the rear end of one of the previously crashed vehicles, with the Jeep's front end going into the Nissan's trunk and pushing both cars 30 feet before coming to a stop, authorities said.

Royds died from his injuries. The two other firefighters and state trooper were also injured in the crash.

An investigation and reconstruction of the crash found that Walker's Jeep was in poor condition overall, according to authorities, "with severe rusting and other deficits." Authorities said three of the four brakes on the Jeep were not functional, and previous records and evidence revealed that she knew about the brake system deficit but declined to fix the brakes and continued to drive the vehicle.

Additionally, there was no evidence of any pre-impact evasive steering by Walker, authorities said. Rather, she continued to drive straight into and through the firefighters and state trooper, ultimately colliding with the black Nissan Altima, authorities said.

Walker is at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and was denied bail.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 14.

With reporting from Patch Correspondent Max Bennett.