Sentence pending in fatal crash

McCleary pleads no contest in accident that killed pastor, wife

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A 32-year-old Hollidaysburg-area man is expected to spend 15 to 30 months in prison to answer homicide by vehicle and related charges filed in a 2016 crash that killed a Hollidaysburg pastor and wife.

James Michael McCleary, 586 Shaw Road, rendered no contest pleas Friday afternoon in Blair County Court before Judge Timothy M. Sullivan, who is expected to impose the negotiated sentence at a forthcoming sentencing hearing.

At McCleary's request, Sullivan ordered a pre-sentence investigation that typically takes about 90 days to complete. Until then, McCleary remains out of jail on $200,000 unsecured bail.

"They were God's warriors," Linda Bagley of Racine, Wis., said Friday when speaking in court about her son, Pastor Jerome A. "Jerry" Hayward Jr., and his wife, Kathleen J. "Kathy" Hayward, last associated with St. John's Reformed Church in Hollidaysburg.

The couple died as a result of the Nov. 29, 2016, crash that occurred after McCleary, heading south on Osgood Drive, lost control of his vehicle while swerving to pass other vehicles.

Criminal charges indicate McCleary drove over the median and into the northbound lane where he smashed into the Haywards' vehicle before his vehicle went into a roll and landed on top of a third vehicle.

"If you had been going the speed limit, no one would have died," Bagley said as she looked in McCleary's direction, then held up a picture of the couple, then a picture of the crash site.

"Don't forget me," the mother told McCleary. "My name is Linda Bagley, and you killed my son and his wife, Kathy."

Bagley and her three daughters, all of whom live in Wisconsin, traveled to Blair County for Friday's court proceeding. They weren't happy to hear that sentencing would be delayed, pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report. But they also vowed to return.

Sullivan and Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio acknowledged McCleary's right to request a pre-sentence report.

"There's some things we'd like the judge to know before sentencing," defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey said on McCleary's behalf. "He's a first-time offender."

McCleary said nothing in court, but Dickey offered assurance of McCleary's remorse.

"My client feels terrible about what happened," Dickey said in court.

When Dickey described statements offered in court by Bagley and her daughters as "eloquent," McCleary shook his head in agreement.

"Every time I've met with him," Dickey said, "he has almost always, if not always, come to tears about what happened."

As for the pending 15- to 30-month sentence, Consiglio said it falls within the state's standard sentencing guidelines for homicide by vehicle. Had McCleary gone to trial and been convicted, Consiglio said there would be no guarantee of a longer sentence.

While McCleary's no-contest plea includes a charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, Consiglio said the level wasn't enough to support a charge of homicide by vehicle while DUI, an offense carrying a three-year minimum jail sentence.

The controlled substance in McCleary's system was THC, a primary chemical compound found in marijuana.

Bagley's daughters, Judi Johnson, Laurie Widmar and Nancy Hayward, often cried in court and comforted each other and their mother while they spoke about their deceased family members. The sisters, who sat in the same row, left an open seat between the second oldest and the youngest because their brother was the third child born in their family.

"I know people make mistakes," Widmar told Sullivan. "But we also have control over what we do. We … get in a car, and we obey the rules."

Widmar also told Sullivan: "I don't know if this pain is ever going to go away."

Sullivan urged the family to find strength in their family and faith.

"If I could wave a magic wand and bring your family members back, I would do that," Sullivan said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.