A Pennside man accused of driving his vehicle with malice on Route 12 during the morning rush on Jan. 16, causing a head-on crash that killed a 61-year-old Reading Hospital nurse, will face third-degree murder and vehicular homicide charges in Berks County Court.
Following a preliminary hearing Wednesday that included no witness testimony in his Oley Township courtroom, District Judge Steven M. Chieffo held over for court all charges lodged by state police against Matthew R. Pekuri.
Pekuri, 45, remained free on $35,000 bail following the brief proceeding to await further court action.
The crash that killed Wanda Matuszak of Ruscombmanor Township occurred about 6:40 a.m. in the 3600 block of Pricetown Road (Route 12) in the area of Glenview Drive, just west of Route 662. It involved four vehicles.
Matuszak died of crushing injuries at the scene, officials said. According to her obituary, she was a registered nurse at Reading Hospital for 40 years and in 2019 was awarded the hospital’s Department of Medicine Nursing Collaboration Award for Nursing Excellence.
Pekuri was arrested Oct. 5, nearly 10 months after the crash, following an investigation that involved numerous units from the state police, including the collision analysis and reconstruction specialist unit, and the forensic services and criminal investigation units. The Berks County district attorney’s office was also involved.
Assistant District Attorney Jason Glessner had several witnesses on hand, including state troopers who investigated, but didn’t need to call them.
Magesterial District Court in Oley. (STEVEN HENSHAW-READING EAGLE)
Just as the hearing was about to begin, Pekuri’s lawyer, Allan L. Sodomsky, requested a stipulated hearing. That means he and the prosecution agreed not to present testimony and leave it to the district judge to decide based solely on a review of the probable cause affidavit filed by state police.
Chieffo, who had read the affidavit right before the hearing, immediately ruled there was sufficient evidence for the case to advance to court and closed the hearing.
According to the probable cause affidavit:
Several motorists reported a cargo van driven by Pekuri speeding eastbound on the two-lane road while it was still dark.
One witness told investigators that he was eastbound about a half-mile east of Redner’s Quick Shop when he noticed in his mirror the headlights of a fast-approaching vehicle that was traveling in the oncoming lane. Westbound vehicles were forced to swerve to avoid a head-on collision, he said.
When the cargo van passed him, he uttered a profanity because the van came so close to his vehicle that “it seemed like he was in my pocket.”
Another witness had a dash camera that captured the moments before the collision.
Troopers said the video and accounts of witnesses indicated Perkuri drove with reckless disregard for the safety of other motorists because the headlights of oncoming vehicles, including that of Matuszak’s, were clearly visible.
They estimated he was traveling 91 mph in the 40 mph zone.
“Matthew Pekuri’s pre-existing, sustained, reckless conduct,” Troopers Jarod Wampler and Richard Carpenter wrote in the concluding paragraph, “was documented both by witness statements and personal video footage of other drivers present which capture Pekuri operating his vehicle with malice — with intentional, willful and extreme negligence, which resulted in the murder of Wanda Matuszak.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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