Teen may have driven too fast in fatal Chester County crash

Excessive speed by a 17-year-old driver may have contributed to a fatal Chester County accident Saturday, police said Tuesday.

Downingtown Police Chief James R. McGowan 3d said the accident, which killed 19-year-old Jesika Kavanagh of Downingtown, occurred at 10:34 p.m. on Glenside Avenue on the north end of an old railroad underpass.

McGowan said a Dodge pickup, operated by a 17-year-old male who was not identified because of his age, was traveling north on Glenside, entered the underpass, and veered into the southbound lane, where it struck a BMW driven by Kavanagh.

Kavanagh, niece of Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, was trapped in the vehicle and had to be removed by the Downingtown Fire Department, McGowan said. She was taken to Brandywine Hospital, where she died.

Two passengers in the BMW, Dylan Roberts, 19, Kavanagh's boyfriend, and his father, Edward Roberts, 48, both of Downingtown, and the teenage driver of the truck, a resident of West Bradford Township, were taken to Paoli Hospital for treatment, McGowan said.

A passenger in the truck, Bernard Dunham, 18, of Downingtown, refused treatment, McGowan said. McGowan said only Edward Roberts remained hospitalized.