Probation for Teen Driver in Crash That Killed 3

By JAMES BOYLE (Patch Staff)

The teen driver behind the wheel of an SUV that crashed and killed three high school students last August received her sentence in a standing room-only Wayne County, PA courtroom Tuesday afternoon, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

Julia Ware, 16, will be placed on indefinite probation and must perform 300 hours of community service, write letters of apology and a 2,000-word essay on the impact of the crash, the report said.

According to the Morning Call, the Pleasantville resident pleaded guilty in Juvenile Court in April to seven charges, including three counts of felony homicide by vehicle and two misdemeanor counts of accidents involving death or injury as an unlicensed driver. Julia drove her father’s Chevrolet Suburban last August in Paupack Township, Wayne County, when she lost control and overturned the vehicle, killing Cullen Keffer, Shamus Digney and Ryan Lesher, all incoming sophomores at Council Rock South.

Julia’s father, Michael Ware, 53, of Scarsdale, N.Y., has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children, three counts of involuntary manslaughter, six counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of false reports and one count of permitting an unauthorized person to drive.

Pennsylvania State Police allege that Ware initially lied about giving his daughter—then 15, and without a drivers licence—permission to drive the car, but authorities learned Ware allowed his daughter to drive his car numerous times before the accident.

Ware is free on $100,000 unsecured bail, and his trial date has not been set.

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