A Lower Gwynedd
man has pleaded not guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the
influence, and other offenses, in a crash that killed a friend who was riding
with him.
The case will now be scheduled for trial in Montgomery
County Court. 22-year-old Matthew Lynch
is accused of going nearly 100 miles per hour with a blood alcohol level more
than twice the legal limit when he crashed his car on Swedesford Road in Upper
Gwynedd. 20-year-old Isaiah
Washington of Philadelphia
was killed in the early-morning crash on January 3. A crash reconstruction expert found that the
car left the road and became airborne on Swedesford Road near North Penn Oak Drive, flipped over and
struck a tree. The defendant and a
second passenger were treated at hospitals for injuries. Police say the three men had been drinking at
a bar. A laboratory test found Lynch’s
blood alcohol level at more than .18.
The legal level of intoxication for driving is .08.
