An Akron man waived a preliminary hearing Friday morning relating to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence charges that stemmed from an incident on September 2.

Magisterial District Judge Jonathan Heisse ordered 30-year-old Derek Sensenig to face six charges – felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI and homicide by vehicle, three misdemeanor counts of DUI of alcohol and drugs, and a summary count of leaving his traffic lane – in Lancaster County Court.

A witness to the crash called 911 to report Sensenig’s erratic driving when the incident occurred.  Sensenig’s vehicle allegedly crossed into the oncoming lane of travel in the 3900 block of Oregon Pike and collided with 65-year-old Jeffrey Myers’ vehicle, causing his death. 

Sensenig is being held at Lancaster County Prison on $50,000 (10%).  Sensenig is presumed innocent.     

Investigation Reveals Clerk of Courts Error

Shortly after the fatal crash, prosecutors learned that Sensenig recently had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a DUI charge on July 27, 2022.  The sentence included a mandatory one-year suspension of his driver’s license.  The suspension had not yet been imposed by PennDOT due, in part, to the failure of the Lancaster County Clerk of Courts Office to notify PennDOT of Sensenig’s conviction. 

The law requires that the Clerk of Court’s Office send a DL-21 form to PennDOT within 10 days of any conviction of a vehicle code offense.  After PennDOT receives the DL-21, it is required to notify the driver, in writing, of their suspension.  A driver is informed at the time of their sentence that the suspension will take effect within 60 days.  PennDOT, however, will take no action until a DL-21 form is received from the Clerk of Courts. 

The reporting timelines required by law work together to keep unsafe drivers off the road as soon as possible after conviction.

The records in Sensenig’s case reflected that a DL-21 form had not been sent by the Clerk of Courts at the time of the crash, 38 days after his DUI conviction in July.  The clerk’s office corrected the error after being alerted to it by the District Attorney’s Office.  The error was described as an “oversight” in correspondence with the District Attorney’s Office and not due to filing backlogs.

“While we cannot say that this tragedy would have been prevented had the clerk’s office submitted the notice to PennDOT in a timely manner as required by law, it certainly highlights the reason why it is critical that these forms be submitted in a timely and accurate manner to PennDOT,” said District Attorney Heather Adams. “Timely notification is essential to better protect the travelling public as the failure to do so leads to the unsafe driver not being taken off the road.” 

Additional Cases Discovered

After the error was discovered, the District Attorney’s Office reviewed a sampling of DUI convictions over a 60-day period to ensure that PennDOT was receiving timely notice of a driver’s conviction in other cases.  This review entailed cross-referencing records held by the District Attorney’s Office with each individual court docket.  Of approximately 110 cases reviewed, it was discovered that the DL-21 form had not yet been prepared or submitted in 24 DUI convictions, all of which were beyond the 10-day limit as required by law. 

Clerk of Courts Mary Anater was notified of these additional cases on September 14, 2022, at which time the District Attorney requested that the clerk’s office, or an independent auditor, thoroughly review all cases where a DL-21 form is required and take immediate corrective action in all cases where a DL-21 had not been prepared and/or sent. 

A search was reportedly completed, and corrections made, but it is unclear how many additional cases were impacted and over what period of time.  Defendants who pleaded guilty and were sentenced to vehicle code violations in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas should be aware that they may be receiving delayed notice from PennDOT of the suspension of their driver’s license.  Affected drivers should also be aware that an untimely notice of their suspension alone will not excuse the suspension. 

“The public needs to be assured that these records have been identified and corrected and that there is a system in place moving forward that ensures compliance with the law,” District Attorney Adams said of the oversight.

If you are concerned about the timely suspension of your license, you can research your criminal docket online at https://ujsportal.pacourts.us.  If the docket contains a notation “DL-21 sent to PennDOT” then PennDOT has been notified of your conviction and you should receive further notification and direction from PennDOT.  You may also call PennDOT at 1-800-932-4600 to inquire about the status of your license.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.