Men were street racing in crash that killed 15-year-old in school van, PA cops say

Two men were arrested following a September crash that killed a 15-year-old girl in a school van, Pennsylvania cops say.

Samantha Kalkbrenner, a student at Serra Catholic High School, was pronounced dead at the fiery scene Sept. 20 in Dravosburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh, McClatchy News reported. Three of her classmates were hospitalized and were listed in stable condition, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said at the time.

Police in Allegheny County released additional information Wednesday, Dec. 13, about the events that led to the fatal crash.

Drivers of two vehicles were near the business where they worked when they began street racing, police said. At the same time, the driver of the school van was attempting to make a left turn at an intersection.

The van driver looked both ways multiple times before entering the intersection, but the van was struck by a Volkswagen, according to police.

“My husband ran over, put the fire out, and I ran over to the kids and took my sweatshirt off, started putting it on the kids, trying to help stop bleeding and keep them alert,” Jessica McCauley, who was driving her son to school, told WTAE.

The investigation revealed the driver of the Volkswagen, 43-year-old William Soliday II, was traveling 90 mph when he crashed into the school van, police said. The other driver involved in the alleged street racing, 37-year-old Andrew Voigt, sped past the crash scene in his Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

The crash caused a door on the car to be ripped off and windows of the school van to be shattered, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Amy Kovka, a witness, told the newspaper “parts went flying everywhere” during the collision.

Soliday and Voigt were arrested Wednesday, police said in a news release. Soliday was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle, while Voigt was charged with accidents involving death.

Reaction to arrests

Soliday was injured in the crash and does not remember the details of what happened, his attorney told WPXI.

“Words can’t describe the remorse he has, his family has,” Casey White told WPXI. “It’s an unfortunate, tragic, any description that fits this type of event. It’s horrific and it’s a sad situation for everybody involved especially for that young girl.”

The charges came to a surprise to White, who said Soliday was not “acting in a malicious manner,” KDKA reported.

Attorney information for Voigt was not immediately available as of Dec. 14.

Nenita Kalkbrenner, Samantha’s mother, told a WTAE reporter she is glad to “finally have a start to prosecuting this case.”

“We’re not stopping until we truly get JUSTICE,” the mother said on Facebook.

Samantha Kalkbrenner was ‘close to perfect’

The Serra Catholic sophomore was a cheerleader at her school and was active in her church youth group, according to an obituary.

In a Facebook post after Samantha’s death, Carl Kalkbrenner called his daughter “as close to perfect as a child could get.”

“She loved her life and everything about it,” the father said. “If you knew her, you loved her. That’s the impact she had in this life.”

She was referred to as “the beating heart of her class” by Serra Catholic principal Robert Childs, KDKA reported.

“Remembering her will not be difficult because she was loved by all,” Childs said. “Her perpetual smile radiated joy and love to all she met.”

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