Judge denies E. Germantown man’s motion to avoid trial in crash that killed Philly police officer

An East Germantown man accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer is still heading to trial after a city judge denied a defense request that effectively aimed to end the case.

Kareem Alleyne is charged with homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal crash that killed Officer Marc Brady last summer.

Motion to quash denied

Alleyne’s lawyers filed a motion to quash which, if approved, would have nullified the outcome of his preliminary hearing in Municipal Court.

On Thursday, Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner called his ruling a “close call,” but said that the Commonwealth had met its burden to proceed to trial.

“I can’t say that no reasonable juror could find that the cause of this accident and the cause of this death is not reckless driving on the part of the defendant,” said Lerner. “It’s not the only possibility, but it is a possibility.”

The backstory

On July 15, 2012, Brady was struck by a white Acura just after 11:30 p.m. in East Mount Airy as he rode his bicycle towards his ex’s home, according to Philadelphia Police.

Brady, who was on administrative duty resulting from an unspecified departmental investigation, suffered severe head trauma.

The 32-year-old was pronounced dead at Albert Einstein Medical Center just over 30 minutes later.

Alleyne, 35, was arrested the next day.

During Alleyne’s preliminary hearing last October, an accident expert with the police department testified that Alleyne “absolutely” had time to avoid Brady.

It was an ‘accident’

Defense attorney James Funt, who is representing Alleyne, maintained that the crash was an “accident, nothing more, nothing less.”

At a Roundhouse press conference attended by Commissioner Charles Ramsey, investigators noted that Brady and Alleyne had “bad blood between them,” but said the incident was the result of a “chance encounter.”

A status hearing is scheduled for July 2.

Mark Levenberg, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, said it could be several months or a year before a trial begins.