Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Norristown Acting Police Chief James Angelucci announced today the arrest of Allan Tariq Cole, 22, of Norristown, for Homicide by Vehicle and other charges related to the June 1 crash that killed Mahilamandiram Chiku of Norristown and severely injured Chiku’s wife and two young children who were passengers in his vehicle.

According to the report, Norristown police responded to a two-vehicle crash with injuries at the intersection of Dekalb and Basin streets at approximately 10:35am. Officers found a silver BMW driven by Cole and a silver Kia Soul driven by Chiku, who was extracted from the driver’s seat and transported to Einstein Montgomery Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The front seat passenger, Remya Karathattuparambu, was airlifted to Temple University Hospital with serious injuries. Two children, ages 8 and 5 months, were found secured in child safety seats and transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment. Cole and two passengers in his vehicle were also injured and transported to Einstein Montgomery Hospital for treatment.

An investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Norristown police found that Chiku’s Kia was attempting to cross Dekalb from the east side of Basin Street to the west side of Basin Street when it was hit by Cole’s BMW driving at a high rate of speed. The force of the impact pushed the Kia into a pole and came to a rest 101 feet from the point of impact, the DA said.

The investigation found that Cole was driving at a speed of 95 mph, 70 mph over the posted speed limit, and blood testing found that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the collision.

“These actions resulted in the death of Chiku and the serious injuries to Karathattuparambu and two juvenile passengers in Chiku’s vehicle, as well as serious injuries to two passengers in Cole’s vehicle,” the DA said.

Cole was arrested on June 26 on charges of Homicide by Vehicle–DUI, Homicide by Vehicle, Driving Under the Influence, Involuntary Manslaughter, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Aggravated Assault by Vehicle and related charges. He was arraigned and subsequently remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:00am on August 8, the DA said.

Photo: Montco DA