A 27-year-old man from Slatington will serve a minimum of three years in state prison after pleading guilty in Lehigh County Court to a fatal drunk-driving accident. Joshua D. Moser may face a maximum sentence of 10 years when he is sentenced next month, following his guilty plea on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and drunk driving.
On February 19, 2016, Moser was driving when he lost control of his car on a curve, causing it to flip onto its roof on Rextown Road, in Washington Township, Lehigh County. Sadly, Nicole Marie Gruber, 24, of Slatington who was sitting in the back seat of Moser’s car, lost her life in the crash. Moser and another passenger, Clark Knoblauch, 25, were seriously injured.
According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Bernardino, none of the seat belts were in use at the time of the crash. During the court hearing, Moser did not offer testimony, while family and friends of Gruber packed the courtroom and made angry comments.
State police were called to the scene of the crash at 11:55 p.m., and found Moser’s car overturned on the lawn of a home on the 8700 block of Rextown Road. The car was traveling north when it hit an embankment, a tree, and flipped over several times. The accident site was located less than 2 miles west of Slatington.