A Levittown man was charged in connection with a fatal collision, that occurred last fall which killed a New Jersey man, while he was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.
Thomas W. Kite, 39, of the Levittown section of Bristol Township, was charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, DUI, and several related offenses in the fatal crash. He was preliminarily arraigned earlier this month by District Judge Terrence Hughes and held on 10 percent of $750,000.00. He posted bond several days later after a bail reduction request was approved by the Court of Common Pleas to $200,000.00
Kite was charged and jailed on Nov. 12 for the two-vehicle accident that killed Joseph Kovacs, 52, of Trenton. The crash took place at the intersection of Mill Creek Parkway and Haines Road on October 19, 2023 just after 11 p.m.
According to police, the crash involved Kite’s white 2013 BMW 128i which struck Kovacs’ blue 2008 Chevrolet Impala from behind. The Impala was stopped at a red light on Haines Road at the time.
After rear-ending the Impala, it was pushed approximately 87 feet into the intersection before coming to rest in the westbound lane, and the BMW traveled about 47 feet post-collision and stopped just beyond the intersection’s stop line, the probable cause alleges.
Kovacs was transported to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia by the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad, but was pronounced dead upon arrival, authorities said.
An autopsy revealed that Kovacs died from multiple blunt traumas, according to a report from the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police at the scene noted an odor of alcohol on Kite, who admitted to drinking and using marijuana prior to the accident, police said in court records.
Field sobriety tests conducted at the scene indicated that Kite was severely impaired, police said.
A toxicology report later confirmed a blood alcohol content of 0.270, above the legal limit, and the presence of marijuana in Kite’s system, the affidavit of probable cause says.
Subsequent to the collision, police discovered, Kite had a mixed drink with vodka and a shot of whiskey at a local bar at around 5 p.m. He then drove to a nearby residence and had three hard seltzers before returning to the bar at 9 p.m. were he had a few more vodka mixed drinks and a few more shots of whiskey.
Steve Mawhinney, a former police chief and crash reconstruction expert with the Bucks County Crash Investigation Team, determined that Kite’s vehicle was traveling between 79 and 106 MPH at the time of the crash. His report concluded that Kite’s excessive speed and failure to stop at a red light, combined with his impaired condition, were direct causes of the fatal crash, police said.
According to court paperwork, the crash was not Kite’s first encounter with DUI, as he was in a first-time offender program for a DUI within the last ten years. Those court records, however, could not be located on the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
Kite is now represented by Louis R. Busico, Esq. out of Newtown and he is currently scheduled to appear for a court hearing on January 14.