Man charged with child endangerment, DUI after crash in rural part of Centre County
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- Police charged Matthew N. Witmer with DUI and child endangerment after crash.
- Troopers found unsecured infant seat and signs of alcohol and cannabis use.
- Witmer allegedly misled dispatchers and failed to seek care after crash.
A man was charged Wednesday with child endangerment and DUI after police said he crashed in a rural part of Centre County, failed to seek medical care for an infant and lied to emergency dispatchers.
Matthew N. Witmer, 22, of Clearfield County, crashed a pickup truck into an abandoned house about 12:30 a.m. April 1 along the 600 block of Rattlesnake Pike in Union Township, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Witmer smelled of alcohol, had thick speech and glassy, bloodshot eyes, a trooper said. He said he had one drink about an hour before the crash and failed field sobriety tests, police wrote.
His blood alcohol content was 0.081%, above the legal limit of 0.08%. The toxicology report also showed Witmer had the compound that gives pot its high in his blood, police wrote. His passenger told police Witmer was drinking prior to the crash.
Troopers said the 8-month-old’s car seat was in the front seat of the truck and did not appear secure. The back seat was full of various items that would have prevented a car seat from being attached safely, police wrote.
The child was examined at Mount Nittany Medical Center’s emergency department, though police did not detail any injuries in the charging document.
Troopers said Witmer falsely told dispatchers there was no crash and did not seek medical care on his own after what they described as a significant crash. He instead called his parents, police wrote.
No defense lawyer was listed.
Witmer was charged with a felony count of child endangerment and misdemeanor counts of obstructing law enforcement and DUI. He’s also facing seven summary citations.
He was arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Steven Lachman, who released him on $20,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 18.