22-04-2025
Jim Thorpe man pleads guilty to vehicular homicide in Carbon County crash that killed 3
A Jim Thorpe man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a 2021 fatal car crash.
According to court records, Brett Knoll, 41, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded guilty to three counts of homicide by vehicle and one count of aggravated assault by vehicle on April 14. He was initially charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle, four counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, and multiple summary traffic violations.
On Aug. 7, 2021, Knoll crashed into a Toyota Camry occupied by four men at the intersection of Interstate 476 and Route 903, killing three of the Camry's occupants. Two of the decedents died at the scene, and one was later pronounced dead at Geisinger Hospital. One occupant who was unbelted was ejected from the Camry, and an occupant who improperly wore his seatbelt was partially ejected.
The victims were three New Jersey men: Nicholas Nissen, 25, of South Amboy; Joseph Riggio Jr., 30, of Parlin; and Michael Guevara, 31, of Bayonne.
According to a Pennsylvania State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialist Unit investigation, Knoll drove at 'such an excessive speed' to cause a hazard and give up his right of way.
Both Knoll and the driver of the Camry, the lone survivor from that vehicle, were wearing seatbelts.
Knoll is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10 by Carbon County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Serfass.
Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Jim Thorpe man pleads guilty in 2021 crash that killed 3 NJ men
