The crash happened around 11:35 p.m. Friday, September 11, in the 1600 block of South 4th Street in Allentown.
According to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, 22-year-old Eliezer Julius Santiago of Allentown was driving an SUV behind a group of three motor scooters traveling southbound on South 4th Street.
Investigators said the victim had just traveled through the intersection near Lexington Street when Santiago’s SUV allegedly struck her scooter from behind.
The woman was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where she was pronounced dead at 3:01 a.m. Saturday, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office. Her identity has not yet been released.
Officials said the woman was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, September 14, at the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and Forensic Center to assist in determining her cause of death.
Witnesses told investigators Santiago’s SUV had allegedly been driving erratically before the crash. Authorities said surveillance video from city and nearby business cameras captured the collision.
The District Attorney’s Office said Santiago allegedly fled the scene following the crash.
Police took him into custody a short distance away after he nearly struck a police vehicle that was responding to the crash, according to authorities.
Santiago was initially charged with felony counts including aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence and accidents involving death or injury while not licensed.
He also faces misdemeanor and summary charges including driving under the influence, careless driving, possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use, driving without a license, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless driving and obstructing administration of law.
Santiago is being held in the Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail.
The District Attorney’s Office said the initial charges were filed before authorities were notified that the woman had died. Additional charges reflecting her death are expected to be filed.
The crash remains under investigation by the Allentown Police Department, Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and Forensic Center.
Authorities said the incident is unrelated to another fatal motorcycle crash that occurred Friday night in Salisbury Township, where separate criminal charges are also pending.
