Deadly Forest County Crash: Man Sentenced Up to 5 1/2 Years in Jail

Joanne Bauer

Joanne Bauer

Published December 8, 2018 5:31 am
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JENKS TWP., Pa. (EYT) — An East Hickory man was sentenced up to five and a half years of incarceration stemming from a deadly crash that occurred in Forest County in August of 2017.

According to court documents, 21-year-old Brandon Samuel Walters was sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on December 5 in front of President Judge Maureen A. Skerda.

Walters pleaded guilty to the following charges:

– Accident Involving Death/Injury-Not Properly Licensed, Felony 3
– Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Misdemeanor 2
– Driving W/O A License, Summary
– Driving at Safe Speed, Summary
– Reckless Driving, Summary
– Failure to use safety belt – driver and front seat occupant, Summary

Walters was sentenced to minimum of one year and a maximum of five years for the third-degree felony charge of Accident Involving Death/Injury-Not Properly Licensed and PennDOT License Suspension for a period of one year.

He was also sentenced to a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months on the charge of Driving without a License and PennDOT License Suspension for a period of six months.

As a result of the plea agreement, the following charges were dismissed:

– Homicide By Vehicle, Felony 3
– Failure To Keep Right, Summary
– Careless Driving, Summary

Walters also had charges filed against him from a July 2, 2017 Forest County Theft case.

He was sentenced in the theft case on April, 16, 2018, to a minimum of 233 days to a maximum of one year and 364 days; community service for a period of 60 hours; and one year probation.

Walters confinement on the homicide by vehicle case will be consecutive to the confinement on the theft case.

Walters is currently lodged in the Warren County Jail.

Details of the Homicide by Vehicle Case:

According to a criminal complaint, at 3:23 a.m. on August 31, 2017, Troopers Whisner and Kalnik were dispatched to a call from an individual who reported driving by a man sitting on the roadway on Guitonville Road. At approximately 3:25 a.m. the troopers located Brandon Samuel Walters standing on the roadway on Guitonville Road approximately 164 feet west of Shaffer Lane, in Jenks Township, Forest County.

The complaint states that Walters’ clothing was covered in dirt and blood when the troopers approached him. Walters stated that he had been involved in a crash where he was the driver of the vehicle. He said he had a female passenger who was injured, and that he had pulled her out of the vehicle after the crash.

Due to the darkness and lack of street lighting, the troopers did not see the crash scene upon arrival. Walters pointed them to the vehicle, which was sitting in a private lawn. Trooper Whisner proceeded to the crash scene to locate the passenger, while Trooper Kalnik stayed with Walters to assess his injuries.

During that time, Walters spontaneously said, “I’m in so much trouble,” and “I don’t have a driver’s license or a permit or anything.”

Walters told Trooper Kalnik he had picked up a female sometime after 12:00 a.m. A known individual residing near the crash scene informed Trooper Kalnik that he heard the crash occur at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Trooper Whisner located the female passenger lying on the ground outside of the passenger side of the overturned vehicle, a 2009 Subaru Legacy registered to a deceased relative of Walters.

The female passenger was unresponsive and stopped breathing shortly after Trooper Whisner located her. The troopers began CPR as they awaited EMS arrival. Even after EMS arrival, the female passenger never recovered and succumbed to the injuries she suffered in the crash. Forest County Coroner Norman Wimer pronounced the death at 4:36 a.m. on August 31, 2017. The cause of death was determined by autopsy to be blunt force trauma to the head.

Walters was treated at the scene inside an ambulance by EMS, then transported to the Clarion Hospital Emergency Room. After being evaluated at the Clarion Hospital, he was later transported by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was admitted.

Around 4:00 a.m. on August 31, 2017, PSP Troop C Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialist Trooper Robert Manno was requested to the scene to reconstruct the collision. Trooper Manno arrived at approximately 5:56 a.m. to conduct his investigation.

The investigation revealed that this collision occurred due to Walters driving the Subaru in excess of the posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour and well in excess of the 25 mile per hour speed warning sign for the curve. The critical speed for the curve was calculated to be 50 miles per hour, meaning 50 miles per hour would be the fastest that a vehicle under those conditions could negotiate that portion of the curve.

The Subaru left yaw marks on the roadway showing the driver was trying to steer through the curve but was unable to do so because he had exceeded its critical speed. The Subaru failed to negotiate the right curve, crossed the middle of the road and the opposing lane, and left the roadway. The Subaru struck a tree, went airborne, and struck another tree before rolling onto its roof and coming to rest.

A check into Walters’ driver’s history revealed that Walters had never possessed a valid driver’s license and was driving without one at the time of the crash. Walters was also found to have not been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

RELATED:

Forest County Court of Common Pleas, July 7, 2017 Theft Case

Forest County Court of Common Pleas, August 31, 2017 Homicide by Vehicle Case

Man Charged with Homicide by Vehicle in Deadly Forest County Crash

Additional Details Released in Deadly Forest County Crash

Woman Killed, Man Injured in Forest County Crash

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