Man charged in connection with ATV crash that killed a Centre County father of 3
A man was arrested Thursday after investigators accused him of drunken driving when he caused an ATV crash last summer that killed a Centre County father.
Nicholas G. Vanwhy, 29, had a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit and was speeding in June when he slammed a Kawasaki UTV into a tree in rural Clearfield County, state police at Clearfield wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Stefan L. Briner, 43, of Huston Township, was killed in the crash. He had three children and was a Bald Eagle Area High School alumnus. He worked for 18 years as a heavy equipment operator for HRI Inc.
The state police investigation found Vanwhy was driving too fast when he attempted to negotiate a curve on Mease Road in Woodward Township. There were no mechanical defects found during the investigation that would have contributed to the crash, police wrote.
As he was being transported to Penn Highlands Clearfield, police said Vanwhy asked a first responder if the IV he received would lower his BAC. He also had bloodshot, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol, a trooper wrote.
A message left Friday with defense lawyer Joshua S. Maines was not immediately returned.
Vanwhy’s BAC was 0.148, police wrote, nearly twice the legal threshold for DUI. Police have not described the severity of his injuries and messages left with troopers have not been returned.
Briner died of blunt force trauma to the head, Clearfield County Coroner Kim Shaffer-Snyder said. His death was ruled accidental.
He was remembered in his obituary as an avid outdoorsman. He loved hunting, cutting wood and sharing his passion for the outdoors with his children “any chance he got.”
“He found himself affectionately being looked at as a Dad to far more than just his three children; throughout the years, their friends fondly looked up to him and he was proud of all of his ‘extended family,’ ” his obituary read. “He leaves behind countless memories that his loved ones will forever cherish.”
Vanwhy was charged with felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and aggravated assault by vehicle. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and DUI, as well as four summary traffic violations.
He was arraigned Thursday by Clearfield County District Judge James Glass, who released him on $75,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12.