Crying buckets of tears, matched by those of her victim’s family, Amy Lynn Boppel admitted Tuesday in Schuylkill County Court that she was under the influence of drugs in June 2014 when she crashed into a car and killed the Ringtown woman driving it.
Boppel, 37, of Ashland, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and failure to keep right and two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI.
Prosecutors withdrew three counts of accident involving death or personal injury, two of careless driving and one each of DUI, driving under suspension-DUI related and failure to drive at a safe speed.
Judge John E. Domalakes accepted the plea and ordered preparation of a presentence investigation, but did not immediately sentence Boppel. Domalakes said Boppel faces a mandatory three-year minimum prison sentence for the vehicular homicide charge and could spend as long as 30 years behind bars.
Boppel already is an inmate at State Correctional Institution/Muncy in Lycoming County, and Domalakes conducted Tuesday’s hearing by videoconference.
Butler Township police charged Boppel with being under the influence of drugs about 12:30 p.m. June 25, 2014, when she crossed the center line of Powdermill Road between Gilberton and Girardville and collided with a car being driven by Mary Lou Leiby, 61. Leiby died at the scene, while two of her passengers, her grandson, Austin Snyder, 17, and Kaylee Henderson, 15, suffered injuries, police said.
Three of Leiby’s family members — daughter Heather Snyder, son-in-law Eric Snyder and daughter-in-law Nicole Leiby — read statements expressing to Domalakes their sorrow for the death of Mary Lou Leiby and their contempt for Boppel, whose criminal record extends over three counties.
“You destroyed my family,” Nicole Leiby said. “You chose to drive under the influence of drugs that day. I do not forgive you.”
Eric Snyder said the accident created unparalleled sadness for him.
“My life has been changed forever,” he said. “I can’t seem to crawl out of this depression you have put us in.”
For Heather Snyder, the result of the accident represents complete unfairness.
“You took a life and destroyed so many others. You get to breathe,” she said. “I think you’re pathetic.”
Boppel’s tears had no influence on Mary Lou Leiby’s family.
“Words cannot express the pain and anguish,” Nicole Leiby said. “The loss of Mary Lou is beyond words.”
Assistant District Attorney Kimm M. Montone, James G. Conville, Schuylkill Haven, Boppel’s lawyer, and township police Patrolman Shawn M. Butler, the prosecuting officer, each declined to comment Tuesday on the case.
The case does not represent Boppel’s first encounter with the law.
On Oct. 18, 2006, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin admitted Boppel into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program after she had been charged with DUI. Mahanoy City police alleged Boppel was DUI on April 17, 2006, in the borough.
Then, on Aug. 26, 2010, Boppel pleaded guilty to DUI and failure to drive at a safe speed. Judge Charles M. Miller accepted the plea and sentenced her to spend five years in the intermediate punishment program and pay costs, $1,525 in fines, $300 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $60 restitution to Pottsville Hospital, now Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street.
Ashland police charged Boppel was DUI on Aug. 8, 2009, in the borough.
On March 22, 2010, Boppel pleaded guilty in Berks County Court to possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi placed Boppel on probation for 12 months and also sentenced her to pay costs, $150 in fines, a $100 SAEF payment and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.
Hamburg borough police charged Boppel with possessing drugs and paraphernalia on Dec. 12, 2009, in the borough.
Then, on Oct. 18, 2013, Boppel pleaded guilty in Lehigh County Court to acquiring possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy. Lehigh County Judge William E. Ford placed her on probation for five years and also sentenced her to pay costs and a $100 SAEF payment and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
The state attorney general’s office alleged Boppel possessed drugs with the intent to deliver them on Jan. 1, 2008, in Upper Macungie Township.
Defendant: Amy L. Boppel
Age: 37
Residence: Ashland
Crimes committed: Homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, failure to keep right and two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI.