A 20 year-old man, accused of causing the death of two of his passengers in a DUI, has pleaded not guilty though open liquor containers were found at the scene and his blood alcohol content proved to be over five times over the legal limit, as reported by The Mercury.
C.J.M., 19 at the time of the incident, claims he was neither speeding nor drunk when he had a one-vehicle crash that took the lives of two of his four passengers on August 6 at 1:19 a.m.
C.J.M. is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, homicide by vehicle, DUI, recklessly endangering other persons, unsworn falsification to authorities, reckless driving, careless driving and speeding.
C.J.M. has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been released pending trial on a $500,000 bail. Attorney Peter J. Scuderi represents him.
The two passengers that died at the scene due to head injuries were E.T.C., 19, and R.W.N., also 19.
Risa Vetri Ferman, the District Attorney, said, "This is yet another case where the combination of teenagers, alcohol and speed tend to be a very deadly combination."
It is alleged that C.J.M drove at speeds between 97 and 103 mph just before the crash. His blood alcohol level was 0.117 percent.
The legal limit for drivers under 21 is 0.02 percent - which makes C.J.M.'s percentage five times over the limit.
The incident occurred when the five boys left an underage drinking party, with C.J.M. driving all of them in his 2007 Honda Civic. While heading westbound on Witmer Road the Honda veered off the road, hit a curb, and drove into a yard on Wade Avenue.
The car came to a final stop when it ran into two trees. Authorities believe that the car traveled approximately 405 feet after C.J.M. lost control between the road and the trees.
Court papers showed that two open bottles of liquor were found at the crash scene.
During a field sobriety test, C.J.M. "displayed clues of impairment" and police noted that his breath smelled of alcohol though he only admitted to having "maybe one or two beers." C.J.M., when asked about the alcohol found at the scene said, "That beats me, I didn't see that at all, I swear."
Authorities allege that C.J.M. lied to police - at first claiming to have been at a friend's home and not a party before the crash, driving no more than 50 mph and that he didn't know the names of the teens that "jumped in" his car for a ride.
The two other survivors of the crash, D.N., 18 and T.K., 19, sustained non-life threatening injuries and were treated at Abington Memorial Hospital along with C.J.M.
The survivors, all but C.J.M., admitted to consuming alcohol before the accident.
C.J.M. is facing up to six years in prison if he is found guilty of homicide by vehicle while DUI.
Charges stemming from DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI can result in the loss of driving privileges, heavy fines and jail time. Contact a DUI attorney for help today!