NORRISTOWN — A Bucks County man will spend several years in prison after he admitted that he was driving under the influence of drugs when he caused a multi-vehicle crash on Route 309 in Lower Gwynedd Township that killed another man.
Daniel Joseph Selby, 33, of the 1100 block of Swamp Road, Fountainville, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 7 to 14 years in a state correctional institution after he pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of controlled substances, DUI, recklessly endangering another person and driving under suspension in connection with the Feb. 10, 2023, crash on Route 309 that claimed the life of Brailyn German Reinoso.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Selby had fentanyl and traces of cocaine in his system at the time of the crash.
With the guilty plea, Selby admitted to operating his Dodge Ram pickup truck southbound on Route 309 while under the influence of both fentanyl and cocaine metabolites when he struck a Honda sedan, operated by Reinoso, that was stationary on the shoulder of the highway, killing Reinoso.
The incident marked Selby’s second DUI offense and he has previous convictions for driving under suspension, according to court papers.
Given that Selby had a previous DUI conviction, he faced a mandatory sentence of at least five years in prison, allowable under state law, for the current homicide by vehicle while DUI charge.
Judge Thomas C. Branca imposed the sentence that was sought by Deputy District Attorney Kelly Suzanne Lloyd.
Defense lawyer Michael Drossner represented Selby during the court proceedings.
The investigation began about 11:07 p.m. Feb. 10, when state police were dispatched to the multi-vehicle crash along the southbound lanes of Route 309 and observed the Dodge Ram to have heavy front-end damage and the Honda sedan to have heavy trunk area damage, according to the arrest affidavit.
Reinoso was trapped in the Honda, had to be extricated from his vehicle and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was treated for life-threatening injuries and died several days later, according to the criminal complaint filed by state police Trooper Robert Sobeck.
“The Honda’s rear bumper area, trunk and left side doors sustained significant contact damage from impact with the Dodge. Passenger compartment intrusion was present in the areas of the right-rear position and the driver seat,” Sobeck alleged.
“The visual inspection confirmed that the damage profiles of each vehicle was consistent with a high-speed, offset, rear-end collision,” Sobeck added.
An autopsy later determined Reinoso died of blunt impact trauma, court papers indicate.
While speaking to Selby at the scene, police detected multiple indicators of impairment, including that he appeared uncoordinated, had bloodshot eyes and slow speech, according to the criminal complaint.
“Selby stated he was driving the Dodge Ram in an unknown lane when he struck a vehicle on the right shoulder. Selby stated he did not recall what had caused him to crash,” Sobeck wrote in the arrest affidavit.
When police searched Selby’s Dodge Ram they discovered two vials containing a white residue suspected to be cocaine and multiple hypodermic needles were observed throughout the vehicle.
Selby refused medical services at the scene. Selby also refused to consent to a blood draw. However, police later obtained a court order to draw Selby’s blood for testing and those tests detected fentanyl and traces of cocaine in his system, authorities alleged.
Police, according to court papers, subsequently determined Selby’s license was under DUI suspension and had expired as of July 11, 2015. Additionally, a background check showed Selby to have received multiple license suspensions for a previous DUI arrest and a DUI-license suspension effective Jan. 17, 2017, according to court documents.
Other charges of careless and reckless driving and accidents involving death or injury while not properly licensed were dismissed against Selby at time of sentencing.
