A 55-year-old Brick Township woman is facing homicide by vehicle charges after telling Pennsylvania State Police she “freaked out” when a bug flew into her SUV, sending it across the center line and into a motorcycle carrying two riders who died at the scene. Bernadette Ann Cobb was driving a 2021 Nissan Rogue eastbound on Route 219 in Brady Township, Clearfield County, on August 12 when she collided head-on with a 2013 Harley-Davidson motorcycle carrying Anthony M. Sones and Miranda S. Wormuth, both of Hyde, Pennsylvania.
According to Shore News Network, Cobb told investigators a bug flew into her SUV through an open window, and she attempted to swat it away before putting her head down by accident, causing the vehicle to drift into the oncoming lane. Sones, 34, was operating the motorcycle and Wormuth, 30, was riding as a passenger when the Rogue crossed into their lane. Both died from injuries sustained in the crash, per the outlet's reporting.
Cobb's passenger, David M. Guerra, reportedly attempted to grab the steering wheel and pull the SUV back into its lane but was unable to prevent the collision, according to NJ.com. The pair had been cleaning an apartment in DuBois, Pennsylvania, prior to the trip. After striking the motorcycle, the Nissan slid down an embankment and struck a tree, the report states.
Victims Had Deep Ties to Clearfield County
Sones and Wormuth had been romantic partners for 14 years, the same report notes. Wormuth, a 2014 graduate of Clearfield Area High School, worked at Soaring Heights, while Sones competed as a driver at Hidden Valley Speedway. The crash occurred near the crest of a hill on Carson Hill Road, also known as Route 219, in Brady Township — a two-lane rural road outside Luthersburg where local volunteer fire companies and emergency medical services responded, according to Connect FM. Route 219 was closed in both directions following the collision.
State police reported that Sones was wearing his helmet improperly and that Wormuth was not wearing safety equipment, while Cobb and Guerra wore lap-and-shoulder seat belts and avoided physical injury, the report adds. Cobb has said the deployed airbags briefly obstructed her field of vision after impact.
No Impairment Found, but Interlock Restriction on Record
Pennsylvania State Police records noted that Cobb had an ignition interlock restriction listed on her driver's license, though responding troopers found no indications she was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the scene, the outlet reports. Interlock restrictions typically stem from prior alcohol-related driving offenses, though the dossier does not specify the origin of Cobb's restriction.
Cobb was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James Brian Glass on August 13, with bail set at $100,000. She was briefly held at the Clearfield County Jail before a professional bondsman posted the surety bond, ahead of a preliminary hearing before Judge David S. Meholick. She now faces two counts of homicide by vehicle, two counts of careless driving resulting in unintentional death, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault by vehicle, and additional traffic violations.
Defense Calls Crash a Tragic Accident
Defense attorney Brian Manchester called the crash a “tragic accident” and criticized state police for placing Cobb in handcuffs before an accident reconstructionist had examined the scene, pledging to defend her vigorously, according to a report cited by Jersey Talks. Under Pennsylvania Title 75 Section 3732, homicide by vehicle is classified as a third-degree felony carrying a statutory penalty of up to seven years in state prison and a $15,000 fine for each count when reckless or grossly negligent traffic violations cause a death, per Philadelphia Criminal Law. Prosecutors have filed two counts, one for each victim. That same source notes Pennsylvania's vehicular homicide standard requires prosecutors to prove gross negligence or recklessness beyond simple negligence — a threshold that could shape how the case unfolds.
Cobb is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, and her preliminary hearing was scheduled for Friday in Clearfield County court, according to Shore News Network. While rare, insect-related distractions are not without precedent in traffic safety research. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash data cited by the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. indicates that an insect loose inside a moving vehicle can increase a driver's crash risk by more than 6.3 times compared to an attentive driver, ranking among the highest physical distraction factors on the road. Nationally, NHTSA reporting attributes roughly 8% to 10% of all fatal traffic crashes in the United States to driver distraction, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths annually across the country.
