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Michael Ghione

Age : 75

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 02/19/2023

Location : South High Street and Route 202 overpass

City : West Chester

County : Chester

State : Pennsylvania

Agency : Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department

Officer(s) :Jason Listmeier

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bicyclist killed by police vehicle crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 02/19/2023 at approximately 10:16 a.m., Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Officer Jason Listmeier was driving a marked patrol vehicle southbound on South High Street near the Route 202 overpass when his police vehicle struck 75-year-old bicyclist Michael Ghione. Investigators later confirmed the officer was not responding to an emergency call, was not using lights or sirens, and was engaged in routine driving at the time of the crash. Authorities determined the collision occurred while Ghione was lawfully riding his bicycle and was not involved in any police activity. He suffered severe traumatic injuries from the impact and later died as a result of the crash.
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ARMED STATUS AND REASON FOR ENCOUNTER: Michael Ghione was an uninvolved civilian bicyclist and was not armed. He was not stopped, pursued, investigated, or suspected of any crime. There were no warrants, enforcement actions, or police contact involving him prior to the collision. The incident was not a law enforcement stop but a police vehicle crash involving a civilian roadway user.
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INCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION AND SEQUENCE: Crash reconstruction and prosecutorial investigation determined Officer Jason Listmeier was operating his patrol vehicle under normal patrol conditions when the fatal collision occurred. Investigators concluded he was actively reading and typing on the patrol car’s mobile data terminal in the moments leading up to the crash. That digital activity became the central evidence in the criminal case. Authorities stated the officer’s attention was diverted from the roadway while interacting with the onboard computer immediately before striking Ghione near the overpass corridor. Emergency responders arrived and transported Ghione, who later died from injuries sustained in the direct vehicle impact.
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FORENSIC AND MEDICAL FINDINGS: The Chester County Coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by multiple traumatic injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash involving a police vehicle. Critical forensic evidence used against the officer included patrol vehicle computer usage logs, crash reconstruction analysis, scene evidence, and officer statements. The DA’s office concluded the onboard computer data showed distraction immediately before the collision, which supported negligence charges. This is very different from most police crash cases where distraction cannot be proven because digital interaction records are often unavailable or inconclusive.
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IDENTITY AND PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Michael Ghione was a 75-year-old West Chester resident and longtime local community member who regularly rode his bicycle in the area. Obituary and local reporting described him through references to his local residency and longstanding ties to the community, emphasizing he was an elderly civilian bicyclist traveling through a routine roadway environment when he was struck by an on-duty police vehicle that was not engaged in an emergency response.
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FAMILY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC STATEMENTS: The case generated strong public reaction after prosecutors revealed the distraction findings and filed criminal charges against the officer. Community members and advocates emphasized that Ghione was a vulnerable roadway user killed by an inattentive on-duty officer who was not responding to any emergency. Public discussion focused heavily on distracted driving, police accountability, and the unusual fact that homicide charges were filed against an officer in a non-pursuit crash.
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LAWSUIT AND LITIGATION OUTCOME: The fatal crash exposure created clear grounds for wrongful death litigation due to the criminal negligence findings and homicide classification by the coroner. Public reporting focused primarily on the criminal prosecution rather than civil resolution, which is common in cases where felony charges are pending. The legal posture centered on negligence liability tied to distracted operation of a police vehicle rather than discretionary force decisions.
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PROSECUTORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW: The Chester County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Officer Jason Listmeier with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, and related summary traffic offenses. Prosecutors stated the evidence showed inattentive driving due to computer use rather than emergency operational necessity. Investigators and prosecutors confirmed he was not responding to an emergency, had no lights or sirens activated, and was engaged in routine driving when the crash occurred. That fact significantly strengthened the negligence case because the officer was not operating under emergency response protections. Standard protocol placed him on administrative leave after the crash, which is typically paid during investigation and is procedural rather than a disciplinary finding. However, unlike most police vehicle fatality cases, prosecutors pursued felony-level charges and the death was ruled a homicide by the coroner, a combination that is rare in officer-involved crash cases.
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IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONAL DETAIL: Fatal police vehicle crashes involving distraction are structurally distinct from pursuit or use-of-force cases because they fall under negligence and vehicular homicide statutes rather than split-second force justification standards. When digital evidence such as mobile data terminal logs confirm distraction, prosecutors gain a stronger evidentiary basis for criminal charges. In this case, the presence of documented computer interaction immediately before impact created a prosecutable negligence framework that is uncommon in police crash investigations.
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OFFICER IDENTIFICATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Officer Jason Listmeier was publicly identified in charging documents following the investigation. He was placed on administrative leave after the crash and the criminal case proceeded through court rather than being quietly closed or reduced to an internal disciplinary matter. He was not acquitted quickly and did not merely receive a citation. The prosecution advanced the homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter charges based on the distraction evidence and crash reconstruction findings.
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FINAL LEGAL OUTCOME: The homicide charges did not evaporate through immediate dismissal and the case moved through the criminal court process rather than ending as a simple administrative incident. As of the latest confirmed public reporting, the case proceeded through prosecution stages centered on negligence and distracted driving evidence tied to the patrol car computer use. The legal trajectory reflects a rare instance where an on-duty officer faced homicide-level criminal charges for a fatal distracted driving crash, rather than internal clearance or summary discipline typical of many police vehicle fatality cases. Nevertheless, the officer was not tried and convicted nor decertified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/police-car-reportedly-struck-killed-bicyclist-in-chester-county/3504199/
https://6abc.com/west-chester-pa-bicyclist-killed-goshen-police-south-hight-street/12844061/
https://6abc.com/west-chester-pa-crash-jason-listmeier-crashed-officer-faces-charges-bicyclist-killed/13049691/
https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/bicyclist-killed-in-accident-involving-police-vehicle-in-pennsylvania/
https://www.dellafh.com/obituary/Michael-Ghione