Huntingdon Valley man admits to DUI crash that injured second driver in Lower Moreland

NORRISTOWN -- A Huntingdon Valley man will head to jail next month after he admitted to driving drunk and causing a two-vehicle crash in Lower Moreland that seriously injured the second driver. Christopher P. Kowalewski, 40, of the 4100 block of Shoemaker Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 9 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and DUI in connection with the Dec.

8, 2022, two-vehicle crash at Byberry Road and Walsh Lane in Lower Moreland. Judge Thomas M. DelRicci, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Kowalewski to begin serving the sentence on Jan.

11. Kowalewski will be eligible for the jail's work release program while serving the period of incarceration. Kowalewski also must complete four years' probation following parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for about six years.

Investigators said Kowalewski's blood alcohol content was 0.278% at the time of the crash, which was more than three times the legal limit of 0.08%. The investigation began about 4:25 p.m. Dec.

8 when Lower Moreland police were dispatched to the intersection of Byberry Road and Walsh Lane for reports of a two-vehicle crash with entrapment. Arriving officers found a GMC Sierra pickup truck, operated by Kowalewski, and a Ford Fusion sedan, operated by a woman, that had been involved "in a serious collision" with both vehicles sustaining "heavy front-end damage," police wrote in the criminal complaint. Police observed Kowalewski "leaning on his truck and losing his balance."

"While speaking with Kowalewski, he admitted to having a beer, seemed lethargic, had slurred speech, had larger than average pupils and smelled of alcoholic beverages," Lower Moreland Police Officer Zachary Heckenswiler alleged in the criminal complaint, adding Kowalewski failed field sobriety tests at the scene. The female driver of the second vehicle complained of chest and back pain and was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for a fractured sternum and other injuries as a result of the collision, police said. A witness to the crash told investigators that he was traveling westbound on Byberry Road, driving behind Kowalewski "and observed him swerving on the roadway prior to the crash," according to court documents.

That witness provided police with dashcam footage from his vehicle that depicted Kowalewski's vehicle veer into the opposing lane and strike the second vehicle operated by the female victim. "Kowalewski was observed swerving and weaving while he was driving in the video. He left his lane numerous times prior to the collision as well and even drove off of the roadway.

Just before the collision, Kowalewski was seen drifting into the oncoming traffic lane, causing the collision," Heckenswiler alleged.

Court papers indicate Kowalewski consented to a blood test and the test results showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.278%.

Other charges of recklessly endangering other persons, careless driving, reckless driving and disregarding traffic lane were dismissed against Kowalewski as part of the plea agreement.