Man charged in crash that killed state senator
BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. - An auto mechanic was charged yesterday with vehicular homicide, drunken driving and other offenses in a head-on collision that killed state Sen. James Rhoades.
BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. - An auto mechanic was charged yesterday with vehicular homicide, drunken driving and other offenses in a head-on collision that killed state Sen. James Rhoades.
Thomas Senavitis, 45, had a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit for driving when his pickup truck crossed a center line and plowed into Rhoades' Cadillac on Oct. 17 in the Poconos, state police said.
Rhoades, a seven-term Republican from Schuylkill County, died the next day.
At his arraignment yesterday, Senavitis, who lives near Lehighton, denied responsibility for the crash and said he was not drunk. "I did not leave my lane," Senavitis said, insisting that Rhoades crossed over Route 209 and hit him. "I didn't have nothing to drink. I maybe had one beer all day." He was ordered held in the Monroe County jail, with bail set at $25,000.
Rhoades won reelection posthumously in November. A special election will be held March 3 to determine his successor.
- AP
























