CLEARFIELD – A Woodland man is facing charges in connection with a fatal head-on collision that killed a Curwensville man in Ferguson Township back in December.
Michael K. Rose, 29, is charged by Trooper Derek T. Southern of the Clearfield-based state police with felony homicide by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle and homicide by vehicle.
He’s also charged with misdemeanor DUI/controlled substance (two counts) and involuntary manslaughter, plus seven summaries.
Rose waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court. His bail was also modified from $75,000 monetary to unsecured.
The charges against Rose stem from a fatal head-on collision that occurred at approximately 6:50 a.m. Dec. 20, 2019 on state Route 729, south of the Lumber City Highway, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Upon arrival on-scene, Southern observed both vehicles at a final rest in the northbound lane of travel, and the second vehicle was consumed with fire. At the time, the fire was in the process of being extinguished by fire personnel.
The trooper also saw emergency personnel as they attempted life-saving measures on the driver of the second vehicle, Nathaniel Canfield, 30, of Curwensville.
Southern, however, was advised that Canfield had succumbed to his injuries and he was subsequently pronounced dead on-scene by Clearfield County Deputy Coroner Gilbert Stevenson.
The trooper briefly spoke with Rose while he was in the back of an ambulance. He said his vehicle slid on ice, went into the oncoming lane and struck Canfield’s vehicle head-on.
Southern also interviewed two witnesses who were the first to arrive at the scene, and they indicated that there wasn’t any ice on the roadway.
On Jan. 28, Southern received the autopsy report for Canfield from the coroner’s office. The cause of death was listed as hypoxia due to a “flash fire” in his vehicle; a contributing cause of death was “retroperitoneal hemorrhage” due to a motor vehicle crash.
On Feb. 11, the trooper received the crash reconstruction report from Corporal David Kostok of the Troop C Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialist (CARS) Unit.
Kostok found Rose’s vehicle was traveling at approximately 56 miles per hour about five seconds prior to the collision. It was noted that the speed limit is posted at 35 mph in this area of the roadway.
On Feb. 17, Southern spoke with Rose, who agreed to sign an authorization for release of protected health information from UPMC Healthcare.
On Feb. 24, the trooper received medical records for Rose from UPMC Altoona. The records reportedly showed Rose had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash.