Firefighter Accused Of Speeding In Summer Motorcycle Fatality
Police Say Jonathan Hogue Was Not Headed To Emergency Before Collision
POSTED: 10:47 am EDT July 1, 2010
UPDATED: 8:40 pm EDT July 1, 2010
MIDLAND, Pa. -- State police in Beaver said a volunteer firefighter was driving too fast and passing cars with his emergency lights flashing when his personal car hit a motorcycle head-on, killing the bike's driver.
Now, 20-year-old Jonathan Hogue has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the wreck that happened Aug. 9.
"The question in this case is whether or not there was an emergency. My understanding is that there was no fire call," District Attorney Anthony Berosh said.
Bryan Loeffler, 23, of Canonsburg, was killed in the crash on Route 30 in Hanover Township. Police said Hogue, of Midland, was driving west in the eastbound lane.
Channel 4 Action News' Sheldon Ingram reported that Berosh said there's no reason why Hogue should have been speeding while on the wrong side of the road -- not even in the case of an emergency.
"The blue lights do not exclude you from the obligations of the safety of the general public, and it does not allow you to violate any rules of the motor vehicle code," Berosh said.
Lights are used to let other drivers on the road know that the firefighters are responding to a call, but they cannot be used to disregard common traffic laws like speeding, stop signs or red lights, Berosh said.
"I'm going to put it this way -- the driver of the blue light cannot violate any rule of the road by the mere fact that he has the lights on," Berosh said.
Hogue is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in three weeks at the county courthouse.