Allentown officer cited in fatal crash is fired

ALLENTOWN - The City Council voted, 3-2, last night to fire a rookie police officer involved in a crash that killed a 4-year-old boy who was on a sidewalk.

State police said Brett Guth caused the accident when he ran a red light on the way to an emergency call on May 30. His car collided with another police cruiser, and one of the vehicles struck and killed Daviay Legrand and seriously injured his mother's boyfriend.

Guth, 32, left the council meeting without comment. Police Chief Roger MacLean and Mayor Ed Pawlowski had recommended that Guth be fired.

State police said Guth was responding to a report of a man with a gun, glanced at a computer to verify the address to which he was driving, and failed to notice the light soon enough to avoid a collision. Guth was cited for running the light, but Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said criminal charges were not warranted.

- AP