A Schuylkill County man faces DUI homicide by vehicle and multiple other charges following a fatal crash in May that killed his passenger in Bernville, Berks County.
Bradley Gherghel, 23, of Pottsville, was arraigned Tuesday, before Magisterial District Judge Kim Bagenstose. Bagenstose set Gherghel’s bail at $100,000 unsecured.
The charges stem from a single-vehicle crash that occurred in the early morning hours of May 24 on Bernville Rd. (Route 183), which resulted in the death of Gherghel’s passenger, 23-year-old Keenan Cryts, also of Pottsville.
State Police filed felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, and aggravated assault by vehicle. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI with a blood-alcohol content of .16% or greater and DUI unsafe driving, alongside seven summary traffic violations.
Troopers from the Reading barracks say they were dispatched just before 2 a.m. on May 24 following a 9-1-1 hang-up call originating from a phone number that pinged near Fox Alley in Bernville. At 2:00 a.m., dispatchers upgraded the incident to a motor vehicle collision with entrapment.
Police say they arrived on the scene at 2:18 a.m. and saw a black 2025 Tesla Model 3 at a final rest approximately five feet off the roadway against a tree. The vehicle had sustained disabling damage, with the most extensive impact located on the front passenger side.
First responders mechanically extricated Cryts from the front-right seat of the vehicle just before 2:30 a.m.. Police say Cryts was not wearing a seatbelt, was unconscious, and exhibited severe, labored breathing. Cryts was taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital, where he died later that evening at 11:19 p.m.. The Berks County Coroner’s Office determined his cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head and brain.
Gherghel was identified by his Pennsylvania driver’s license on the scene, where he was standing on the shoulder of the roadway. Police initially reported detecting the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Gherghel’s breath and person. Police also observed Gherghel swaying, slurring his words, and exhibiting watery, bloodshot eyes.
Gherghel reportedly told police that he and Cryts were traveling from the Deer Lake Pub in Orwigsburg, which they left at about 1:30 a.m., and that he was driving Cryts home. He told investigators he remembered everything about the incident, was driving approximately 30 to 40 mph, and slid into a tree. He said he had two or three drinks prior to driving and had not consumed alcohol after the collision. Gherghel’s phone number matched the number from which the initial 9-1-1 hang-up call was made, police say.
Inside the vehicle, police observed deployed airbags alongside multiple opened and unopened alcoholic beverage containers, including Cayman Jack and Twisted Tea, and noted a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the interior.
Gherghel submitted to a preliminary breath test on the scene, which detected the presence of alcohol. He was subsequently taken to Reading Hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, Gherghel consented to a chemical test of his blood after being informed of the Pennsylvania Implied Consent Law, police say.
Toxicology results from the legal blood draw, completed on June 6 indicated Gherghel had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.191%. A subsequent search warrant executed on June 30 for Gherghel’s hospital medical records revealed a medical blood ethyl alcohol level of 0.269 mg/dL.
A crash reconstruction and an analysis of the Tesla’s airbag-control module and camera data were conducted by Trooper Benjamin Scott. Investigators allege the data showed the vehicle failing to keep to the right-hand portion of the roadway, leaving the lane of travel multiple times, and following another vehicle too closely immediately prior to striking the tree.
Gherghel’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 29, 2026, at 10 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Andrea Book in Bernville.
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