Toronto man charged with DUI homicide in Bensalem

Authorities have charged Shane Learn, 48, of Toronto, Canada, with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses stemming from a crash last month that injured two and left a Northampton man dead.

A husband and wife from Northampton planned to have a few drinks while out at Parx Casino in Bensalem last month, according to Bucks County prosecutors.

So rather than drive themselves, they arranged to take a Lyft ride.

They never made it to their destination.

Shortly before 7 p.m. April 28, Bensalem police say a Ford F-150 pickup slammed head-on into the Chevrolet Malibu that had picked them up.

Neil Weiner, his wife Audrey Shapiro, and Lyft driver Daniel Weingart were rushed to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia where Weiner, 57, died May 1.

Now authorities have charged the driver of the pickup truck, Shane Learn, 48, of Toronto, Canada, with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses, court records show.

In an affidavit of probable cause, police said Learn’s truck struck the guardrail in the 4000 block of Richlieu Road and then crossed the double-yellow line into the opposite lane of travel where it collided with the Malibu heading south.

Police responding to the scene said Learn had “bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes” and his breath smelled like alcohol. He allegedly failed two field sobriety tests as well as a breathalyzer test.

According to police, Learn told them he drank two beers and a double whiskey drink prior to driving, allegedly stating, “It was my fault. I crossed the line.”

“It’s a shame,” said Deputy District Attorney Robert James. “Two people doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing … It doesn’t matter. You have someone driving drunk who hits them anyway.”

Weingart was not seriously injured in the crash, James said, but Shapiro was still hospitalized as recently as Monday. She has lost an eye as a result of the crash and may be permanently blind, he said.

For a fatal DUI, James said Learn’s alleged blood-alcohol level, .13 percent, was on the low end of cases he’s charged, with some defendants’ BACs more than double that number.

“It just goes to show you, impaired is impaired,” he said.

Learn, who has been living and working in the Bensalem area, has been cooperating with investigators and turned himself in to police Tuesday, James said.

He was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $300,000 bail set by District Judge Michael W. Gallagher during a Monday afternoon arraignment, records show. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for May 16.

Weiner was a father of two, managed his own printing business and brought laughter to everyone he knew, according to an obituary.

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