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MANSFIELD -- A suspended state trooper will go to trial on charges that he caused a violent fatal crash that killed a teacher in February in Tioga County.
A Luzerne County district judge decided the charges against Michael J. Brown after a hearing this week, according to PennLive.com.
Brown was driving on Feb. 11 while passing another car on Route 6 and his vehicle collided with a car driven by Christine E. Woodward, 47, of Troy, police said.
Gary Beadle, a state police accident reconstructionist, testified that Brown had not acted in a reckless or gross negligent manner, a factor in the homicide by vehicle charge, PennLive reported.
Woodward was trapped in her car and died from heat injuries as both vehicles caught on fire, according to police.
The accident took place as the trooper was going to his 11 p.m. shift and Woodward was returning home after attending her son's
basketball game and picking up groceries, according to a report from PennLive.
Brown acknowledged he began to pass a car driven by Benjamin Dewalt in a no-passing zone, according to Cpl. Jeffrey Vilello, the lead investigator.
Despite having a broken left arm, Brown tried to break a window to reach Woodward who was screaming for help, Dewalt testified.
A dip in that section of roadway made it impossible for a westbound driver to see an eastbound vehicle.
Defense attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. asked for the judge to dismiss the charges.
"We all know accidents happen," he said, according to the media outlet's report.
"If it's not gross negligence, what is it?" Deputy Attorney General Anthony Forray asked.
"He killed the woman."
Speeding was not considered to be a factor, based on the hearing testimony.
Brown has been suspended without pay since his arrest and remains free on unsecured bail.
He also faces vehicle code violations that include passing in a no-passing zone and following too close.