2 men accused of racing, causing Dravosburg school van crash that killed 15-year-old girl

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Two men are facing charges in connection to the death of a high school cheerleader in a school van crash in September.

Samantha Kalkbrenner, 15, was killed in the crash on Sept. 20.

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Court documents said Andrew Neil Voigt and William R. Soliday are charged in connection to the crash. They were arrested Wednesday.

Voigt and Soliday are accused of racing, causing the deadly crash.

Samantha’s mother told Channel 11 they are happy the legal process has begun but they were not ready to say more on Wednesday night.

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Allegheny County police said surveillance video showed the van checked each direction before heading into the intersection to make a left-hand turn from 3rd Street onto Richland Avenue.

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When the van entered the intersection, it was struck by a Volkswagen Jetta GTI.

Additional surveillance video showed a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk passing through the intersection just after the crash.

Witnesses said both the Volkswagen and the Jeep were traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash.

Soliday was identified as the driver of the Volkswagen and Voigt was identified as the driver of the Jeep.

Both men worked at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, which is near the scene of the crash. Channel 11 received the following statement from Naval Nuclear Laboratory:

“The September 20, 2023 incident on Richland Avenue in Dravosburg was a terrible tragedy and a sad day for the local community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Samantha Kalkbrenner’s family and the other individuals who were injured in the incident. The Allegheny County Police are leading the investigation and the Naval Nuclear Laboratory will cooperate as needed.”

Speeds over 100 mph were recorded inside the Volkswagen leading up to the crash.

“You turned the vehicle into a deadly weapon. We believe they were racing,” District Attorney Stephen Zappala said in a news conference Thursday.

Soliday is facing multiple felony charges including third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and homicide by vehicle. Voigt is facing one felony count of accidents involving death or personal injury.

Channel 11 spoke with Soliday’s defense lawyer Casey White who told us his client doesn’t remember any details from that horrific day because of some injuries he suffered. White, however, said Soliday is sorry for what happened.

“Words can’t describe the remorse he has, his family has,” White said. “It’s an unfortunate, tragic, any description that fits this type of event. It’s horrific and it’s a sad situation for everybody involved especially for that young girl.”

“It was a very shocking situation. How many have us have passed by terrible accidents and not stopped?” Voigt’s defense attorney, David Shrager told Channel 11.

To that defense, Zappala had strong words.

“This guy just kept going. That’s cold… That’s really cold. Good luck with that with a jury,” he said.

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