Police Officer Faces Charges In Deadly Holmesburg Crash
By Mike Dougherty, Diana Rocco
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia District Attorney's office has filed charges against a police officer who is accused of causing a fatal accident while he was driving drunk in the Holmesburg section of the city earlier this month.
Involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle and DUI are some of the charges Sergeant Thomas Winkis is now facing for his alleged role in an accident September 14th (see related story).
Sergeant Winkis is accused of crashing his Dodge Challenger into a van operated by 55-year-old David Farries just before midnight. It happened near the intersection of State Road and Ashburner Street. Farries was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and he died of his injuries three days later.
Farries' daughters say it's justice Winkis will be charged, but they won't rest until he is behind bars. They say Farries will never know his youngest grandchild.
"She'll never know a life with my dad, it's just heart wrenching," daughter Nicole Pirrone said.
Earlier on Friday, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey suspended Winkis with intent to dismiss.
The crash came just a of couple days after Sergeant Winkis buried his ex-wife, also a Philadelphia police officer, who suffered an aneurysm and collapsed at the police station where she was working.
