Hearing postponed for woman charged in deaths of 2 Pa. State Police troopers and pedestrian on I-95

More than 30 Pennsylvania State Police troopers clad in gray packed a small Philadelphia municipal courtroom Tuesday, showing support for the wives of fallen Troopers Martin Mack III and Branden T. Sisca at a planned hearing for the young woman charged in their deaths.

Jayana Webb, 21, is accused of fatally striking the troopers and Reyes Rivera Oliveras, 28, with her car on I-95 in the early morning hours of March 21.

Prosecutors have charged her with three counts of third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle, and DUI-related charges for the crash.

At the scheduled preliminary hearing before Municipal Court Judge Karen Simmons — which was ultimately continued — Mack’s and Sisca’s wives sat in the front row of the public gallery, days after their husbands’ funerals.

Behind them was a crowd made up mostly of troopers.

Webb did not attend. Her attorney, Michael Walker, requested a continuance, saying he had not spoken with his client since last month.

Simmons said the sooner a hearing could be scheduled, the better: ”Everybody involved in this case wants this to be done as soon as possible,” she said.

The preliminary hearing is now scheduled for June 22.

» READ MORE: On I-95, four lives converged in a crash that left three dead and a young person facing steep consequences

Flanked by troopers, the fallen officers’ wives walked quickly out of the room without comment.

Outside the courthouse, Walker told reporters he had hoped a hearing could be scheduled as soon as next month to minimize the time Webb, who is being held without bail, is in custody.

”Right now there are accusations lodged against her. I understand that some people may have rushed to judgment because of the things that are printed in the paper. But she is still presumed innocent,” he said. “And because of the way the system works — and it’s deliberate in that way, that it’s not quick — she could potentially sit in jail as an innocent person until proven guilty for one, two, three, four years until this case comes to trial or pleads out.”

Walker said Webb was “hanging in there” as she awaits her next hearing. “She’s still distraught. She still is remorseful, the fact that three people died. It’s a tragedy. She’s upset.”

The crash happened after Mack and Sisca were dispatched to assist Oliveras, who had been walking on the highway near Lincoln Financial Field. As the troopers were working to get Oliveras off the interstate, prosecutors say, Webb attempted to pass a parked state police SUV while driving at a high speed, fatally striking all three men.