DUNMORE -- Police in Lackawanna County arrested a woman for causing a crash that killed a good Samaritan who was helping change a flat tire.
Mary Timko, 31, of Simpson was set to turn herself in at the State Police barracks in Dunmore Thursday morning but never showed. So, troopers arrested her Thursday and charged her with homicide by motor vehicle, DUI, and reckless driving.
It took investigators almost four months to file charges because there were a lot of pieces to the investigation. Police said Timko was drunk, abusing prescription drugs, and texting at the time of the crash.
Investigators said there could have been dozens of scenarios. If the car with the flat had just gotten off the Casey Highway near Mayfield, if Rikki Cummings had been just a minute quicker, the deadly wreck may not have happened.
Now police have figured out another set of scenarios that led to the crash back in October.
State police said Mary Timko of Simpson caused the crash. According to court papers, Timko was drunk, abusing prescription pills, and texting while driving westbound on the Casey Highway on October 12, 2013.
Then Timko collided with the car full of teenagers that Rikki Cummings had stopped to help. Cummings was killed instantly, the teenage boys were injured.
"Approximately a minute before the crash occurred Ms. Timko had sent a text and there was also an unsent text on her phone when they did the investigation," said Trooper Connie Devens.
Cummings' family had been waiting for an arrest. Their attorney Larry Moran said their son's good deed is their only solace.
"{Rikki} came upon the scene of these young boys who had been stranded on the road watching dozens of cars pass for over 30 minutes. He was the only one who stopped to help and it cost him his life," Moran said.
Police said Cummings was doing nothing wrong off the side of the Casey Highway changing the flat. Timko's SUV was the scenario he couldn't predict.
"Anytime you have someone with controlled substances in their body, and alcohol, and add texting to it, it just magnifies what can happen. And this is a perfect example of what can happen," added Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Bob Klein.
Timko was arraigned Thursday afternoon on a long list of traffic related charges including homicide by motor vehicle and DUI. She was sent to Lackawanna County Prison on $2,500 bail.