The legal motions in the case of a former police officer, charged in connection with a fatal crash he was involved in while working on duty, will be heard this week by a senior judge from Bucks County.

Judge John Rufe will hear argument on the motions filed in the case by defense counsel and the commonwealth on Tuesday starting at 10 a.m. in the county courthouse in Jim Thorpe.Steven Homanko, 27, of Beaver Meadows is charged with felony homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault by vehicle and related counts stemming from a crash that occurred on May 12, 2014, along Route 209 between Nesquehoning and Jim Thorpe.Homanko was employed at the time as a part-time officer for Nesquehoning and driving a borough police cruiser when it collided with a Toyota Yaris driven by Michael Sauers, 65, and his wife, Carola Sauers, 69, both of Lehighton. Carola Sauers died of injuries sustained in the crash. Michael Sauers spent two months recovering at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem.After the crash, Homanko was suspended from his job by Nesquehoning borough council and eventually was fired. Michael Sauers has filed a civil case against Homanko and Nesquehoning seeking damages.Rufe was assigned the case when Carbon’s three sitting judges recused themselves because of Homanko being a county police officer. District Attorney Jean A. Engler also recused her office from prosecuting the case because of a conflict also due to Homanko working as a county police officer.The hearing is being held on motions filed by Assistant Attorney General Anthony Forray, chief prosecutor, and defense attorney Paul Levy. The attorney general’s office took over the case at the request of Engler.Levy has filed a motion to dismiss the charges while the commonwealth has filed a motion for evidentiary ruling, seeking to have prior motions made by Levy dismissed. The proceeding is for oral arguments on the motions. The trial of the case is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 11, with jury selection on Oct. 10. The trial was set for December but moved to October at the request of the AG office.Case historyWorking as a part-time Nesquehoning patrolman, Homanko’s 2009 Crown Victoria spun on Route 209 between Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning shortly before 6:30 p.m., with the rear-end of the cruiser crashing into the Toyota Yaris driven by Michael Sauers with his wife, Carola Sauers, a front-seat passenger.A report by state police investigators said Homanko was traveling at about 113 mph in the 55 zone at the time.Homanko told investigators he was pursuing a yellow Dodge Neon that had made an illegal pass near the intersection of routes 93 and 209.At a preliminary hearing held before a District Judge Joan Snyder, of Lehigh County, several witnesses testified that they saw a Nesquehoning cruiser speeding up and down Route 93 and Route 209 within a half-hour of the fatal crash. Snyder was brought in to hear the case following the recusal of the Carbon County district judges, one of which is Homanko’s father.While the Neon did make an illegal pass, Homanko told state police he “wasn’t that concerned with trying to catch it because he already contacted Jim Thorpe police, who were waiting for it up ahead.”State police at Lehighton took over the investigation because it involved a local police officer.After a nearly yearlong investigation, charges were filed against Homanko on May 6, 2015. The case has been pending for some time, in part, due to legal motions being filed by defense and commonwealth attorneys.