Scott Portman tows cars for a living, so he knows the sound of a motor racing when he hears it.
The afternoon of Feb. 24, he heard a loud one outside his Bristol Township business that belonged to a black Ford Explorer.
It was going very fast, he said. So fast, it left a cloud of dust as it passed.
Bensalem man charged in fatal accidentBensalem man was high, speeding and unlicensed in crash that killed couple: police
Seconds later, Portman said that he heard more noise. This time the sound of metal slamming into metal.
“It was loud. It was extremely loud,” Portman testified Tuesday at a preliminary hearing for a 31-year-old Bensalem man who authorities allege was behind the wheel speeding, high and unlicensed.
About 1,000 feet away from his garage, at the intersection of Ford Road and Veterans Highway, police say the Explorer plowed into a red Nissan Sentra attempting a left turn with such force it ripped off the entire passenger side and rear of the car and threw it 60-feet.
Two of the four people in the Nissan died.
The man behind the wheel of the Explorer, John Wadlinger, allegedly ran from the accident scene, then stole a dump truck in a failed getaway attempt that ended when he lost control and it tipped over.
Following four hours of testimony, including two accident reconstruction experts, District Judge Kevin Wagner held Wadlinger for trial on three dozen charges, including multiple homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges.
He remains incarcerated in Bucks County in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Married couple, Richard Whiddon, 37, and his wife Rebecca, 33, of Brooklyn, Connecticut, were killed in the accident. The couple were reportedly in Bucks County to attend the wedding of a friend.
They were seated in the front and back passenger seats when the Explorer struck it traveling at least 73 mph. Both died of multiple injuries, according to the autopsies.
The driver and a third passenger in the Sentra were taken to the hospital where they were treated for injuries.
Witness Christine Ballantyne testified that she and her boyfriend were stopped at a red light on Veterans Highway when they saw the accident. She said it appeared that the Explorer was speeding.
She testified she saw the man, later identified as Wadlinger, get out of the Explorer and run behind Auto Zone. Her boyfriend, who was driving, started following him while she was on the phone with 911, Ballantyne said.
Later she identified Wadlinger as the man she saw run from the Explorer.
DNA samples from the Explorer also matched Wadlinger’s DNA, according to police.
About 11 minutes after the fatal accident, Rosann Rose testified she was in the shower at her home in the 3000 block of Old Rodgers Road not far from the fatal accident scene when she heard a loud thud.
Then her husband yelled that the gate to their fenced backyard where they have a business storing large vehicles was demolished and a parked dump truck was driven out of their driveway. She testified Wadlinger took the truck without permission.
Around that time, Bristol Township officer Kevin Jackson testified that he was securing the area near the accident scene when he heard a bang, then saw a dump truck speeding past him on Old Rodgers Road. The driver was a white male with a beard, he testified.
Jackson started following the truck, which was traveling above the 25 mph posted limit and was headed toward Route 413. The driver soon lost control at Veterans Highway and the truck tipped over, Jackson testified.
The driver escaped out of the front windshield, but after a brief chase, Jackson apprehended him.
A subsequent crash investigation found no evidence the Explorer attempted to brake before striking the Sentra and estimated Wadlinger’s speed was at least 73 mph as he approached the intersection. The posted speed limit is 35 mph.
The only tire marks on the highway were after the point of impact, Bristol Township officer John Nowicki told the court.
Nowicki also testified that Wadlinger shouldn’t have been behind the wheel.
His driver’s license was revoked until 2031 for DUI-related convictions and blood tests taken after the accident also came back positive for methamphetamine and amphetamines, he said.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
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