Suspect in Giletta's Death Due in Court This Week

The motorist in the Pennsylvania collision that caused Daniel Giletta's death faces a preliminary hearing in court on Thursday.

Mike Mattson, an assistant district attorney in Delaware County, Pa., said Donnie Sayers, 28, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., has been informally arraigned and will face a judge this week after being accused of at least 14 crimes in relation to the collision that killed Giletta, of Wyckoff, and badly injured his passenger, Pat DiChiara of Toms River.

Sayers is currently incarcerated on $1 million cash bail.

Meanwhile, the initial suspect in the case, Kenneth Woods of West Philadelphia, has been released from custody, and all charges have been withdrawn, Mattson said. "We don't anticipate any charges," the assistant DA said, although Woods was initially linked by physical evidence to the Range Rover allegedly driven by Sayers.

An arrest affidavit provided by Mattson reveals the authorities' account of the fatal collision, which occurred at approximately 3 a.m. last Wednesday.

Detective Thomas Long of the Haverford Police Department said Officer Thomas McDermott observed a black Range Rover that matched a report of a stolen vehicle driving at Eagle and Haverford roads in the Pennsylvania township early that morning. McDermott attempted to stop the Range Rover, but Sayers, the alleged driver, eluded him and sped away, authorities said.

McDermott witnessed the collision with Giletta's Volkswagon Jetta and stopped to check on his safety while Sayers sped off, Long said. Giletta was declared dead at the scene of the crash, and DiChiara was airlifted to the University of Pennsylvania hospital.

The Range Rover, which had been reported stolen Tuesday by a Haverford woman, was found abandoned further down the road, Long said. Haverford police obtained a search warrant and recovered a print that matched Woods, Long said, along with a cell phone that contained an image that appeared to be of Woods.

The evidence led to the arrest of Woods, who maintained his innocence.

Woods had insisted that the print was owed to him touching the vehicle earlier that night when he met up with Sayers, a friend. He also claimed that the cell phone image was not him. 

Mattson declined to comment on the cell phone evidence, saying information will be provided at trial.

However, the authorities' interview of Woods led to suspicions of Sayers, who later called police and said "I am sorry for what happened. It was an accident, and I want to turn myself in," Long said.

Sayers was taken into custody, where he waived his Miranda rights and offered a written statement saying he was the sole occupant of the Range Rover at the time of the collision. He admitted being high on PCP at the time, as well as having consumed a 40-ounce bottle of beer, Long said. Sayers also had been driving with a suspended license and "admitted to wanting to get away because his license was suspended, and he did not want to get arrested for DUI," Long said.

However, Sayers denies stealing the SUV. Instead, he said he rented it from an unknown man earlier that night at a 7-11 in Bryn Mawr for $45.

Sayers faces the following charges:

• third-degree murder;
• aggravated assault;
• involuntary manslaughter;
• homicide by vehicle;
• fleeing or attempting to elude an officer;
• accidents involving death or personal injury while not licensed;
• accidents involving death or personal injury;
• reckless driving;
• driving while suspended, DUI related;
• driving under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled substance (second offense);
• driving under the influence of alcohol and a controlled substance;
• receiving stolen property;
• homicide by vehicle while DUI;
• aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI.