Montco Teen Sentenced To Prison In Drunk Crash That Killed Friend

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Montgomery County teenager whose drunk driving killed one passenger and severely injured three others in a crash was sentenced to prison by a county judge on Tuesday afternoon.

Alexander Koenigsberg, 19, of Huntingdon Valley, will spend the next six years behind bars.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 23, 2022 on Greenwood Avenue in Cheltenham Township.

Koenigsberg and the passengers in his Honda Civic had been at a birthday party in a bowling alley that night, where no alcohol was served, police said.

However, Koenigsberg left at some point and drank, and was drunk by the time the group left, according to the DA's Office. An investigation found that his blood alcohol level was between 0.136 percent and 0.165 percent, or up to twice the legal limit. He also had THC in his system.

Koenigsberg then sped, going nearly 62 miles an hour in a 25 mile per hour zone before losing control of the vehicle at a curve, police said. He hit a guardrail, continued across a grassy area, and then slammed into two utility poles.,

"Many families were forever altered by this defendant's actions," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.

His friend Nicholas Bednarek was killed. A 17-year-old girl was sent head-first through the windshield, suffering a brain bleed, broken vertebrae, a broken pelvis and other injuries. Another female passenger sustained a spinal injury, fractured ribs and internal injuries, while a third passenger — a male in the front passenger seat—sustained a fractured skull, multiple broken vertebrae and extensive internal injuries that required the use of a ventilator, prosecutors said.

Koenigsberg sustained spinal injuries and a broken clavicle.