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DUI Charges against Driver in Crash that Killed Motorcyclist

ARCHBALD — A woman is now facing charges in a crash that killed a college baseball player. That woman from Lackawanna County is behind bars after being ch...
lisa mecca

ARCHBALD -- A woman is now facing charges in a crash that killed a college baseball player. That woman from Lackawanna County is behind bars after being charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI.

The crash in April killed a teenager who had a college baseball game scheduled for later that day.

There is a makeshift memorial near the site of the crash to Shane Rivenburgh, 18, of Mayfield. Rivenburgh was on his motorcycle on Business Route 6 in April when police say a vehicle driven by Lisa Mecca of Dickson City hit him and killed him.

Mecca was in court Monday morning in Archbald. She faces charges including homicide by vehicle while DUI. Investigators say toxic levels of prescription drugs were found in her system including a painkiller and Xanax.

Officers say they noticed something wasn't quite right with Mecca immediately after the crash. Court papers indicate she was slurring her speech and gave her a field sobriety test before taking her for blood tests.

"These are prescription medications. Based on the affidavit, the allegations are that the defendant was incoherent, really not making sense. People need to think just because a doctor says you can take these pills, doesn't mean you should drive on them or safely operate anything," said Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon.

Prosecutors tell Newswatch 16 that this is Lisa Mecca's second arrest in a year and a half for driving under the influence. The first one resulted in an ARD and a two-month license suspension.

"There is no excuse. A family lost a young son, a brother. It's heart wrenching. Now a family is going to watch their mother go to jail. All around it's a tragedy," said Scanlon.

This time, Mecca is facing homicide by vehicle while DUI and is locked up in Lackawanna County.

Shane Rivenburgh was a baseball player for Lackawanna College. His teammates put the memorial after his death.

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