Trial begins for Boalsburg woman charged in 2018 crash that killed a Bellefonte man
Reece Bloom only had time to think before a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu driven by a Boalsburg woman slammed into a 2016 Ford Focus driven by his father.
Nailah Oliver, 22, was driving the green sedan in the westbound lanes of the Mount Nittany Expressway. She lost control of the vehicle on the wet road during the morning rush hour in September 2018, crossed the median and drove into the eastbound lanes.
She collided with Robert Bloom, who was driving his son to Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy.
Reece — an 18-year-old who aged three years since the crash and was the first to testify about the crash that killed his father — didn’t have time to say anything. His dad didn’t have time to react, either.
“I could think, but there wasn’t enough time to say anything,” Reece testified. “... It all happened so fast. There was nothing to say.”
Robert Bloom, 47, died of blunt force chest trauma, Centre County Deputy Coroner Debra Smeal wrote. Reece Bloom’s physical injuries included blurry vision, a headache and some abrasions.
The younger Bloom staunchly opposed heading to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment until his dad joined him in the back of an ambulance. That was before State College police officer Nicholas Argiro told Reece his 47-year-old father died.
Robert, of Bellefonte, worked as a mechanical engineer and project manager at Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant for 16 years. He graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in engineering science in 1993.
Reece is set to embark on a similar journey nearly three decades later. He plans to pursue a mechanical engineering degree at University Park starting this fall.
“I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Reece testified.
Few facts of the trial are disputed.
Centre County Assistant District Attorney Crystal Hundt labeled it a “simple trial” and a “battle of the experts” during her opening statement Monday.
At issue is the speed at which Oliver was driving and the reliability of the data extracted from the vehicle.
Oliver estimated her speed at no more than 65 mph in three interviews with police, while a witness estimated Oliver was driving about 70 mph. The speed limit is 55 mph.
Data pulled by state police crash reconstruction specialist Frank Gaus said Oliver was driving about 84 mph five seconds before the crash. The data also showed Oliver did not attempt to brake before the crash.
“She chose to disregard that 55 mph sign,” Hundt said. “She chose to blatantly disregard those blinking yellow signs warning her of the curve in that road over and over.”
Oliver was not texting or in the midst of a phone call during the crash. No illicit drugs or alcohol were found in her system.
A state police veteran hired by defense lawyer Julian Allatt wrote in a report that Oliver’s tires lost traction and “could have been spinning faster than the vehicle was moving,” he said during his opening statement.
More than a dozen people are expected to testify, including Oliver.
“Too many people have been telling Nailah’s story for her,” Allatt said. “Too many people have written reports summarizing her intent. ... Her words have been twisted.”
Oliver is charged with one felony count of homicide by vehicle, two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, one misdemeanor count of involuntary manslaughter and eight summary traffic violations.
The trial, the first of the year in Centre County, is scheduled to conclude Wednesday.