LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A tractor-trailer driver was charged Thursday in the fiery 2021 crash that led to the death of a brother and sister in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Cesar Torres, 38, of Florida has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter, failure to stop at a red signal and driving at a safe speed in the deaths of Brandie, 21, and Leonard Kasper, 18, according to Pennlive.
The siblings died of burns and smoke inhalation on May 22, 2021, after Torres allegedly ran a red light and crashed into the side of the pickup truck that they were in.
The pickup truck and Torres’s truck both caught on fire.
“The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office said the Kaspers died from a combination of thermal burns, smoke inhalation and multiple traumatic injuries sustained in the crash,” according to Pennlive.
Torres’s tractor-trailer also became engulfed in flames, but he escaped without injury.
“Prosecutors said a police investigation determined there was nothing preventing Torres from realizing he had a red light and was supposed to stop when he went through the intersection,” according to Pennlive.
Pennlive reported that Torres was driving at approximately 31-33 miles per hour at the time of the crash and the pickup that the siblings was in was going 7.5 mph. The posted speed limit was 25 mph.
Prosecutors say that Torres is solely the cause of the collision due to his failure to stop despite having sufficient time and distance to see the traffic light.
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