A 32-year-old man will spend several decades in state prison for causing the Bristol Township crash that claimed the lives of a couple from Connecticut in February 2024.

In a packed courtroom Monday at the Bucks County Justice Center, Common Pleas Judge C. Theodore Fritsch sentenced John Thomas Wadlinger Jr., of Bensalem, to 26 years, nine months, to 56 years, 10 months in state prison, for the Feb. 24 hit-and-run crash that killed Rebecca Whiddon, 33, and Richard Whiddon, 37, both of Brooklyn, Conn. 

Fritsch also ordered that Wadlinger pay $14,971.11 in restitution and $8,100 in fines.

Several relatives and friends of the victims appeared in court to deliver impact statements. Two surviving victims also spoke.

Friends and family spoke glowingly of the Whiddons, with one of the crash survivors describing them as “two spectacular and unbelievably special humans.”

The Whiddons were in Bucks County for an annual gathering of friends in the urban exploring community and to celebrate a friend’s birthday in Philadelphia.

“This was supposed to be a joyous day,” Deputy District Attorney Christine Sassane said, but it quickly became one filled with terror and sadness.

“One moment, we are all happily laughing on our way to see our friends and in the next, jilted into an unconceivable nightmare,” said Chandra Lampreich, who survived the crash. “The crash had caused such carnage; I felt like I was standing in the middle of a battlefield.”

A joint investigation by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Bristol Township Police Department, and the Plumstead Township Police Department, found that Wadlinger was under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine when he sped through a traffic intersection at a minimum of 73 mph, and crashed into a Nissan Sentra, occupied by the Whiddons and two friends.

The Nissan Sentra was headed westbound on Ford Road and was attempting to make a left turn onto southbound Veteran's Highway when it was struck by a black Ford Explorer, driven by Wadlinger, traveling east on Ford Road at an excessively high rate of speed.

The crash investigation found that Wadlinger was speeding at more than twice the posted speed limit at the time of impact.

The Whiddons were killed at the scene, and the driver and another occupant of the Nissan sustained significant injuries.

One of the surviving victims was hospitalized for nine days with injuries that included a collapsed lung, liver laceration, multiple rib fractures, a right clavicle fracture and acute blood loss. She also required surgery on her spleen.

Wadlinger fled the scene on foot before police arrived.

In court, Deputy District Attorney Sassane played a video compilation that captured several angles of the crash on surveillance videos from nearby businesses and homes. One video also showed the Whiddons and their friends stopping at Wawa for snacks moments before the crash. The video compilation continued with 911 calls placed following the thunderous crash that nearly ripped the entire passenger side and trunk off the Nissan Sentra.

Bristol Township Police Officer John Nowicke, who investigated the crash, testified in court that he had never seen such devastation. “This was the worst crash scene I’ve ever witnessed,” he said.

The video also captured Wadlinger’s attempt to flee by running away after the crash and stealing a tow truck. His attempt to flee on foot a second time ended when a Bristol Township police officer chased him down, tackled him and took him into custody, bodycam video played in court showed.    

In November, Wadlinger pleaded guilty to 20 counts, including two counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI.

During his impact statement, Richard Whiddon’s father said “the pain, devastation, and shock of this tragedy haunt us every single day. We continue to struggle, both mentally and physically, as we try to process the unthinkable loss. At times, the pain feels utterly unbearable.”

This case was investigated by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Bristol Township Police Department, and the Plumstead Township Police Department, and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Christine Sassane and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bukowski.

Media Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscounty.org