Woman Was High In Rt. 78 Crash That Killed 2 Grandchildren: Cops

A woman was high on marijuana when she crashed her car on I-78 in Pennsylvania, killing her two young grandchildren, state police said Thursday.

Nadine Walton, 55, of Newark, N.J., was charged Thursday with homicide by vehicle while under the influence of drugs connected to the Sept. 14 crash in Lower Saucon, Pa., according to The Morning Call.

Walton is scheduled to surrender in the next few days to Pennsylvania State Police, authorities said. The crash killed 5-year-old Ravon Robinson, who died at the scene, and his 2-year-old sister, Brielle Robinson, who died several days later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, according to the report.

Police discovered open containers of alcohol in a car following a crash, police said at the time.

Walton was driving in the left lane of I-78 East near the Route 33 interchange around 1 a.m. with the 5-year-old boy and the 2-year-old girl, as well as a 31-year-old Newark resident, when she drove off the left side of the highway, Pennsylvania State Police said.

After driving off the highway, Walton allegedly attempted to correct the swerve, but her 2011 Nissan Versa veered back across the highway and hit a guard rail along the highway's right shoulder, police stated.

The impact with the guard rail threw the three passengers from the vehicle, then the Nissan returned to the road and came to a stop in the left lane, authorities stated.

Police said that two other vehicles then struck the Nissan: a 2014 Kia Forte driven by a 26-year-old male from Easton, Pennsylvania, and a 1996 Dodge Caravan driven by a 49-year-old male from Warren.

Authorities said that emergency responders found the 5-year-old boy dead at the scene and transported the other passengers in the Nissan to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township. Walton was in an intensive care unit before she was treated and released, NJ.com reported.

The drivers of the Kia Forte and Dodge Caravan suffered minor injuries and were transported to local hospitals. Both were wearing their seatbelts and neither faces traffic citations, police said.

Police said that the adults in the Nissan were wearing their seatbelts and the children were in safety seats. However, officers also found open containers of alcohol in the Nissan, authorities stated.

“Further investigation” regarding the alleged open containers of alcohol is needed, and possible traffic citations against Walton are pending investigation, police said.

Eric Kiefer contributed to this report

Patch file photo