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Court documents state that Del Nero was transporting in his van two mentally challenged adult males in the rear of his vehicle as an employee of M-5 Inc., a care facility for the mentally challenged.
At the same time, a driven by Robert Dippel, of Phoenixville, was traveling eastbound on Egypt Road with his wife Linda.
Court documents state that Del Nero drifted across the double yellow lines and into the oncoming eastbound lane of Egypt Road and hit the car head-on.
Dippel was extricated from his vehicle by EMS and fire department personnel.
According to police, Del Nero told police several times that he and his passengers had been wearing their seat belts. However, during the investigation, police said that Del Nero and his passengers were not restrained at the time of the accident.
Police examined Del Nero’s vehicle at the scene of the accident and noticed a plastic prescription pill bottle in plain view wedged between the top edge of the front passenger seat and the groceries and other "trash" filling the floor area.
Court documents state the bottle contained a small plastic bag containing a quantity of a white powdery substance. The substance was field-tested positive as cocaine.
Police got a search warrant for the vehicle and a blood sample at the Hahnemann Hospital.
During the search, the items discovered inside Del Nero’s vehicle were a plastic tube/straw with a white residue on the interior; a prescription pill bottle in the name of James Del Nero for Diazepam tablets, but it contained 29 Alprazolam pills and four Oxycontin pills; one white pill; a bottle labeled Safeway Acetaminophen 500mg tablets that contained one small grayish/brown pill that was different from the other white tablets inside.
Court documents state that the results of the lab analysis revealed that the plastic bag contained 2.01 grams of cocaine; the white residue in the plastic straw was confirmed as containing cocaine; the pills in the bottle labeled Diazepam were 29 Alprazolam pills and four Oxycontin pills; the white pill was Oxycodone and Acetaminophen combination; the gray/brown pill was morphine; and the blood sample showed that Del Nero was driving under the influence of controlled substances to the degree that he was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle.
Police stated because of Del Nero’s actions, Del Nero, Robert Dippel, and one of Del Nero’s passengers all sustained serious bodily injuries.
Del Nero turned himself in to police at the Lower Providence District Court in Montgomery County.
He was arraigned before District Judge Benjamin Crahalla Wednesday morning.
Del Nero was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.
