CLEARFIELD – A Luthersburg man pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence in relation to an accident on Rockton Mountain in May 2024 during colloquy court on Monday.
Chicgo Anthony Wayne Callender, 29, was sentenced by Judge Paul E. Cherry to serve five to 10 years in state prison with one year consecutive re-entry supervision.
His attorney, Jendi Schwab, told the judge that Callender is extremely remorseful. He “fell into addiction” as many do, she said.
Callender addressed the court confirming his remorse, and saying if he could go back and change his actions that day, he would. He stated he was sorry for the family’s loss and is taking full responsibility for his actions.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash on May 17 at 1:35 a.m. near 6297 Rockton Mountain Highway in Union Township.
The first unit appeared to have struck a deer and had major damage to the passenger side which seemed to have been hit by the second vehicle. A deceased deer was lying nearby. A trooper noted that the seat belts were in a position indicating they were not used, and the air bags had not deployed. The tires were in poor condition and drug paraphernalia was observed on the road near the driver’s side door, he wrote in the criminal complaint.
The second vehicle had major front end damage with both front air bags deployed.
A passenger in the first vehicle, Llewellyn “Keith” Brown, 56, of Luthersburg was pronounced dead after being transported for treatment at Penn Highlands DuBois.
A collision analysis and reconstruction specialist issued a report stating that the first vehicle was traveling about 85 miles per hour just five seconds prior to the impact with the other unit. It was noted that the first vehicle’s anti-lock braking system was not functional and the tires were all worn.
The second unit was traveling about 66 mph before the accident.
Callender, the driver of the first unit, was subjected to a field sobriety test which he failed prior to being transported to a hospital for treatment.
The driver of the second vehicle told police he was driving home when he saw the other vehicle swerve into his lane of travel. He slammed on his brakes, but they collided. A passenger in this vehicle corroborated the driver’s story.
A nurse told police that Callender had admitted to her he had used methamphetamine 72 hours before the crash.
A search warrant for a blood test was executed and the results revealed Callender had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system, according to the report.
