Girl accepts felony counts in fatal car crash

A 16-year-old girl who crashed an SUV in the Poconos in August, killing three students from Council Rock High School South and injuring two other passengers, admitted to three felony counts of homicide by vehicle on Wednesday, according to the district attorney of Wayne County, Pa.

Julia Ware of Pleasantville, N.Y., also admitted to two misdemeanor counts of accident involving death or injury, prosecutor Janine Edwards said in an e-mail Thursday morning.

Ware, who was 15 at the time of the crash, was driving her father's 2001 Chevrolet Suburban without a license when it flipped and rolled on a winding road near the Wallenpaupack Lake Estates, a quiet mountain community of houses and cabins outside Scranton.

The car was carrying Ware, one of her friends, and four Council Rock students, three of whom died in the crash: Cullen Keffer, Shamus Digney, and Ryan Lesher. All were 15-year-old sophomores.

Ware, her friend, also 15 at the time, and another Council Rock student, who has not been identified, were all injured but released from the hospital the day of the crash.

Prosecutors said at the time that they believed the car was speeding around a sharp downhill turn when it careened off the side of the road, then flipped and rolled around the bend.

A witness said after the accident that she could hear tires screeching and passengers yelling, "Slow down" before the crash.

Ware's father, Michael, 53, was also charged in the incident and is awaiting trial on charges of endangering the welfare of children, involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses. No trial date has been set.

Prosecutors have said Ware gave his daughter permission to drive his car the day of the crash.

Ware's attorney, Robert Reno, has said his client denies the charges.

In a brief interview after Julia Ware's court appearance Wednesday, Ed Lesher, father of Ryan, said his family wanted justice.

"We want [the Wares] prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and we'll go from there," he said.

Edwards, the district attorney, said a date had not yet been set to determine Julia Ware's penalty.

Unlike in adult court, dispositions in juvenile cases are determined case by case by a judge, and they can range from probation to out-of-home placement in a juvenile facility.