A Danville man charged in a deadly DUI crash in September will have his case proceed to county court after a preliminary hearing this week.

Judge Brian Chudzik ruled Monday that the case of Apar Shirishkumar Patel, of the 1500 block of 2nd Street, can proceed to the Court of Common Pleas on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, two counts of driving under the influence and four summary traffic offenses.

Patel, 36, is accused of crashing into a tractor-trailer that had pulled onto the shoulder of westbound Route 283 in East Hempfield Township around 11:30 p.m. Sept. 8, killing his 33-year-old passenger, Karra Clevenger.

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo, who will prosecute the case along with Assistant District Attorney Ande Gonzalez, noted that Patel was inebriated at the time and admitted to being the driver of the vehicle.

An East Hempfield Township police officer who spoke with Patel at Lancaster General Hospital after the crash told the court Patel said he had been drinking with Clevenger in Lancaster city but that he had no memory of the events after he started driving.

Patel at first told police that Clevenger was the driver, the officer told the court, but he had a “strong emotional reaction” upon learning that Clevenger had died and admitted that he was the one behind the wheel.

Blood drawn from Patel while he was in the trauma bay less than two hours after the crash showed he had a BAC of .134% at the time.

A second East Hempfield Township police officer who reconstructed the crash told the court that Patel’s vehicle failed to recognize the disabled tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the highway, drifted off-road and crashed into it, making no attempt to stop prior to the collision. The crash caused the “catastrophic failure” of the passenger-side seatbelt, the officer told the court, causing Clevenger to be ejected from the vehicle.

First responders who arrived at the scene determined that “there was no aid that could be rendered” to Clevenger, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said. An autopsy determined her cause of death to be multiple traumatic injuries suffered as a result of the collision.

PennDOT video depicting the crash was played before the court. The video, along with interviews of eyewitnesses and roadway markings were all used in reconstructing the collision, the officer told the court.

A certified mechanic who inspected Patel’s vehicle after the crash found no faults with it, in fact determining that the vehicle was “brand new,” the officer said.

Patel is currently free after posting $250,000 cash bail.

Sergeant Joshua Sandman of East Hempfield Township police filed the charges.