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Man to plead guilty in fatal crash

A Slatington man charged with homicide by vehicle in connection with a fatal crash in Washington Township last year plans to plead guilty.

Joshua Douglas Moser, 26, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea when he appears for his next court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14 in Lehigh County Court.Moser faces charges for a fatal crash in February 2016 that killed Nicole Marie Gruber, 24, of Slatington.The charges include homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence; homicide by vehicle; two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol; involuntary manslaughter; two counts of recklessly endangering another person and related summary offenses.State police at Bethlehem said the crash occurred at 11:55 p.m. Feb. 19, 2016, along Rextown Road, about a half-mile south of Mountain Road, in Washington Township.Moser was operating a vehicle northbound and traveling through a right curve when the vehicle left the road and went onto the berm, where it hit an embankment.The vehicle then re-entered the road, began rolling and came to rest on its roof partially in the road and partially on the front lawn at 8756 Rextown Road.During the crash, Gruber, who was a passenger, was ejected from the vehicle. She was flown by medical helicopter to St. Luke's University Hospital Bethlehem Campus, where she was pronounced dead.Moser and another passenger, Clark Knoblauch, also of Slatington, were injured and taken by ambulance to the Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.Troopers said Gruber was not wearing a seat belt. Moser and Knoblauch were wearing seat belts.

Joshua Moser of Slatington is shown leaving the office of District Judge Rod Beck of Slatington following a preliminary hearing in August 2016. TIMES NEWS FILE PHOTO