Background: The aftermath of the crash on Interstate 476 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on March 30, 2025 (WFMZ/YouTube). Inset top: John J. Sweeney Jr. (Beck-Givnish Funeral Home, Inc.). Inset bottom: Onanyeli Rosario-Mesa (Lehigh County District Attorney's Office).
A drunk woman was driving the wrong way down a Pennsylvania interstate when she smashed into a motorcyclist, killing him, authorities say.
Onanyeli Rosario-Mesa, 25, faces multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle while DUI in connection with the death of 50-year-old John J. Sweeney Jr. She also has been charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, five counts of recklessly endangering another person, DUI, and driving the wrong way.
The case stretches back to spring 2025.
On March 30, 2025, at about 9 a.m., Rosario-Mesa was driving south on Interstate 476 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, while in the northbound lanes — where Sweeney and other people were operating their motorcycles, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. She then allegedly struck them head-on.
Video from the day shared by Allentown, Pennsylvania, independent TV station WFMZ shows foggy conditions on the road. One person even appeared to have been recording Rosario-Mesa as her Honda HRV raced down the road.
The crash killed Sweeney.
When law enforcement arrived at the crash site, Rosario-Mesa was reportedly there and said, "It's all my fault, I was tired and falling asleep. I thought I bumped into something and then woke up."
Officers asked her if she had been drinking, to which she allegedly responded that she had drunk "two or three shots of tequila."
Authorities took a blood test from the suspect, allegedly showing she had a blood alcohol content of 0.1%, over the legal limit of 0.08%. However, a warrant for her arrest was not issued until April 7, 2026, with Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan expressing that such a delay is not unusual in a case like this.
"We like to take a lot more time to make sure it's complete, make sure it's accurate, and that we have a full picture of what happened, including the videos, the reconstruction from the roadway evidence, as well as the digital evidence preserved on the cellphones," he told WFMZ.
Some evidence allegedly came from the defendant's cellphone, where she reportedly sent a text about 90 minutes before the crash stating, "I hate alcohol I be talking too much nonsense."
When Rosario-Mesa "failed to surrender" to the warrant, the case was transferred to the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Allentown. The agency said that on Tuesday evening, an anonymous tip was sent "suggesting that Rosario-Mesa was hiding in Philadelphia with her boyfriend."
Onanyeli Rosario-Mesa is arrested by U.S. marshals in the 2700 block of Stanwood Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia).
Investigators learned that the boyfriend lived at an apartment in the 2700 block of Stanwood Street in the city, and at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, U.S. marshals arrested her.
Rosario-Mesa was arraigned in Lehigh County on Wednesday, and she is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 12.
Sweeney is remembered in his obituary as a father of two who "enjoyed riding his motorcycle, playing pool, hanging out with his kids, family and cherished dog Boomer."