KYLERTOWN – Homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence charges were filed in District Judge Jerry Nevling’s office against an Osceola Mills man Thursday.
Daniel Robert Collier, 28, is also charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, and aggravated assault by vehicle, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of DUI and recklessly endangering another person, along with four traffic summaries.
He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 25.
The charges stem from a crash on Aug. 8 on Old Turnpike Road in Morris Township where Logan Hollabaugh, 25, of Morrisdale, died.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when police arrived on the scene, they saw a car with extensive front end damage at the base of a tree. Members of a fire company were working to extinguish a fire in the vehicle.
When Collier was questioned, he said there were two other people in the car, but he thought they ran away after the crash. He said those people were smoking weed while he drove around and down back roads.
Collier related that he told them to stop smoking. He reportedly then admitted to smoking medical marijuana the day before and to taking a sip of alcohol offered to him by one of the passengers.
After speaking with police, Collier was intubated and transported to UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment.
The trooper was advised by members of the Morris Township Fire Department that there was a passenger in the front seat who was deceased.
“He was unable to be identified due to the extensive injuries obtained,” it says in the criminal complaint. The victim had to be extricated from the car by mechanical means.
After he was removed, a partial bottle of liquor was located in the center console, and multiple other bottles were found under the victim’s body.
The victim, later identified as Logan Hollabaugh, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed he died from asphyxiation from the fire after the crash.
Several witnesses confirmed that Collier was the one driving the vehicle.
Police say a collision and reconstruction specialist determined that the car was traveling at least 61 to 74 mph at the time of the crash in a zone with a speed limit of 35 mph.
A blood test obtained by police showed that Collier’s blood alcohol content was 0.67 percent and he had both THC and fentanyl in his system, according to the report.
