CLEARFIELD – An Osceola Mills man who caused a motorcycle crash while avoiding police will spend time in state prison.
Robert Lee Miller III, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to felony fleeing or attempting to elude police, and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and accidents involving injury.
His attorney, Ryan Dobo, asked President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to give Miller, who is already in state prison, a concurrent sentence in this case because he was really injured in the accident and although he has a history of drug abuse, he is a “different person” now.
Ammerman agreed and sentenced Miller to serve a concurrent term of one to three years in state prison. Online court documents indicate Miller is currently serving a sentence of 33 months to five years for a 2022 drug case.
The charges stem from an incident on Sept. 3, 2022 in Boggs Township. According to the affidavit of probable cause, police spotted Miller riding a motorcycle that matched one involved with criminal activity.
The trooper followed the cycle through a parking lot where it was traveling at a high rate of speed. He activated his lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop, but the motorcycle with a female passenger, failed to stop, leading to a pursuit.
As the trooper continued chasing it, the driver, Miller, failed to negotiate a curve and the bike crashed on Drane Highway.
When he was taken into custody, Miller had methamphetamine in his pockets. Authorities also found drug paraphernalia, a container with nine pills and a digital scale at the crash site.
Both Miller and the passenger were taken to the Altoona Hospital for treatment. The passenger suffered an injury, which required seven vertebra to be fused in her back.
After Miller refused a blood draw request, a search warrant was issued for the hospital to release Miller’s blood test results. The lab report revealed he had methamphetamine, amphetamine, fentanyl and norfentanyl in his system.