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WILKES-BARRE — A sentencing hearing for a Berwick man who admitted to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he crashed head-on with another vehicle, killing a passenger, was canceled Thursday due to his death.
Joshua A. Lewis, 43, died unexpectedly Jan. 13, a week before he was to be sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.
Lewis, of Salem Boulevard, was driving a 2012 GMC Sierra traveling north on Route 11 when he crossed into oncoming traffic colliding with a 2016 Ford F250 and then struck a 2016 Hyundai Sonata on April 23, 2019, according to court records.
Patricia M. Schesney, 56, of Courtdale, a passenger in the Ford, died at Berwick Hospital. An autopsy revealed she died from multiple blunt force trauma.
Her husband, Joseph Schesney, was treated at a local hospital for serious injuries.
Lewis was transported to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
Prosecutors in court records say a blood test showed Lewis had an alcohol level of 0.098 percent and tested positive for amphetamine and Oxycondone.
Lewis pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by vehicle on Sept. 27. He remained free on $200,000 unsecured bail.