Emily Fredricks

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed the Defendant’s Motion to quash and dismiss the charges against the driver who killed 24-year-old Emily Fredricks in 2017, meaning the case will, again, move forward.

Fredricks was riding her bicycle on Spruce Street in November 2017, when she was hit and killed by the driver of a Gold Medal Sanitation truck.

The District Attorney brought charges against the driver of the truck, and Gold Medal settled out of court with the Fredricks Family.

After a successful Preliminary Hearing wherein the charges of homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person, were validated and the case approved to move along, the Defendant’s Motion to Quash and Dismiss Charges was granted on August 14, 2019. The District Attorney’s Office immediately filed an Appeal.

The case has been returned to the Philadelphia Courts to be prosecuted on all original charges. A new hearing on the Defendant’s motion must be held, and we will be waiting to hear when that hearing will be scheduled.

The Fredricks Family, who co-founded Families for Safe Streets Greater Philadelphia in the wake of the tragedy, is relieved that the Superior Court, after their review, reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings.

“This year that we have been waiting to hear from the Superior Court on the appeal has been difficult,” said Laura Fredricks, Emily’s mom. “We are eager and confident that the District Attorney’s Office will use this new opportunity to bring justice for Emily. Our family is forever broken, and we miss Emily beyond words. The tragic way that she was taken from us, and the end to such a promising life, has changed our family forever.”