A Maryland man pleaded guilty in Carbon County court on Monday to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and DUI for a 2020 crash that left a motorcyclist dead.

Jeremy White, 39, of Temple Hills, entered the pleas in the July 13, 2020, crash before Judge Steven R. Serfass.

Serfass told White, under state sentencing guidelines, he faces a standard range sentence of 36 to 120 months in prison. Under state law, for homicide by vehicle while DUI, there is a mandatory minimum state prison term of three years.

Terry Angel Gonzalez, 30, of Lansford, was killed in the crash. He was driving his motorcycle to drop off his daughter’s bathing suit when his bike was struck by White’s SUV.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Trooper Peter Krajnak of the Lehighton barracks:

At 2:07 p.m., Krajnak was dispatched to a two-car vehicle crash that occurred in the area of 205 Stock St. in Nesquehoning. Officers were already on scene.

White, the driver of a blue Hyundai Tucson, was not injured and was inside the Hauto Fire Department nearby. Krajnak and trooper Mark Bower talked to White, who said that his Maryland driver’s license had expired on March 30.

White said he was traveling west on Stock Street when his vehicle crossed over the double yellow line into the path of a motorcycle driven by Gonzalez, who was traveling eastbound. White’s vehicle hit the motorcycle. Gonzalez was thrown from the bike and he was pronounced dead on scene by a member of the Carbon County Coroner’s Office.

While speaking with White, Bower and Krajnak saw he had glassy, bloodshot eyes and droopy eyelids. White agreed to field sobriety tests, which he failed. He refused any other testing.

Bower asked White if he consumed any alcoholic beverages or used any drugs prior to driving and White said that he drank alcohol and had smoked marijuana the night before.

White’s vehicle had an odor of marijuana and a burned marijuana roach was near the driver’s seat. Bower asked White to submit to a blood test, but White refused.

Due to the severity of the crash, and based upon his crash investigation, it was Krajnak’s opinion that White was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle.

A search warrant was obtained for a sample of White’s blood. White was taken into custody under suspicion of DUI.

Charges of homicide by vehicle; driving without a license; disregard traffic lane; careless driving; and reckless driving were dropped in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office. The homicide by vehicle while DUI is the most serious charge that White faced.

White was originally jailed in the county prison but was later released on bail.

His attorney, Michael E. Moyer, said a blood test revealed his client had marijuana in his system.

Gonzalez left behind a fiancee and two young children. Many of his family members were in the courtroom for the plea proceeding. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Lynn Rapa, who is prosecuting the case, said the family members would speak at the sentencing hearing.

Serfass deferred sentencing so White can obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation as required by law in a DUI case.