CLEARFIELD – A Woodland man pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in relation to a vehicle accident that occurred in November 2020 in Bradford Township.
Joel Edgar English, 25, who also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, was sentenced to serve nine months to two years in the county jail with three years concurrent probation by Judge Paul E. Cherry during sentencing court.
In addition, three women were charged for helping English leave the scene.
In March, Stacey Danielle Peters, 47, of West Decatur, Jenny S. Peters, 49, of Philipsburg and Drew Peters, 27, of Woodland, were accepted into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program for first-time offenders.
They will serve one year ARD probation, pay $900 plus court costs and perform 100 hours of community service.
According to the affidavit in English’s case, when police arrived at the scene of the accident at McDowell Road, Bradford Township just after midnight on Nov. 7, 2020, Travis Straw, 24, of West Decatur was deceased and English, the registered owner of the vehicle, was not there.
Later that night, police determined that another occupant had fled the scene and identified him as English. After he was located, he reportedly denied being the driver.
He told investigators that he and the victim left the Clearfield Moose before having the accident.
Surveillance footage from that location showed the two leaving together with Straw in the passenger seat as they left the parking lot.
A witness said he saw English in the driver’s seat after the accident and Jenny Peters helped him out of it.
A blood test revealed that English’s blood alcohol content was 0.217 percent.
According to the affidavits in the other cases, emergency medical personnel told officers that Stacey Peters, Jenny Peters and Drew Peters were at the scene prior to their arrival.
Initially, they gave conflicting reports about what happened after the accident.
In a later interview, Stacey Peters admitted English was there. She said because he was screaming and crying hysterically as he tried to wake the victim, she drove him away from the crash scene.