Trial Underway Of Montco Man Authorities Say Ran Away From DUI Crash
LANSDALE, Pa. (CBS) -- Opening statements were heard in the case of a Lansdale man who is accused of running away from a DUI crash in 2013, and leaving his friend to die alone on a rural Montgomery County road.
The prosecution tells the jury Sean Sperl, 21 at the time of the crash, had been at a Phillies game in April, 2013, drinking all day.
Around midnight, his car slammed into a telephone pole on Ridge Road, killing his backseat passenger, 21-year-old Ryan Petrille. But Sperl and another passenger, ran off.
The other passenger called his father, went home, then contacted police. Sperl woke up in a shed near the crash scene several hours later, and had the homeowner call police.
Sperl's defense attorney, Charles Mandracchia, argues authorities jumped to a conclusion and did not do an adequate investigation.
"And they rushed to judgment. They just made the determination that Sean Sperl was the driver."
Several hours after the crash, Sperl had a BAC of twice the legal limit. But, with no forensic evidence, Mandracchia says the other person in the car could have been behind the wheel.