HOLLIDAYSBURG - A Cambria County man who police said supplied the beer an underaged driver drank before a deadly wreck in Hollidaysburg in 2010 was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter.
Patrick J. Fyock, 23, of Vintondale allegedly bought two cases of Miller Lite from two Mount Union beer distributors on Sept. 25, 2010, police said. He shared the beer with Daniel Paul Sullivan Turous, who was 17 the night Turous, also of Vintondale, crashed and rolled a car at high speed at the end of a police pursuit on the 300 block of Blair Street.
A passenger, Kelsey Lynn Miller, 16, of Nanty Glo who was sitting in the back seat along with Fyock, died in the crash. Last month, Turous, a co-worker and friend of Fyock's, was sentenced to spend at least 3 years in state prison after pleading guilty to homicide by vehicle and related charges.
Fyock, who was injured in the crash, told police he had trouble remembering details of that night. He said he bought beer but claimed he didn't know if Turous drank any of it, according to his arrest papers.
Hollidaysburg and Duncansville police determined Fyock bought one case of beer earlier in the day while Turous and he were hanging out and fishing at a Mifflin County hunting camp near Newton Hamilton, according to Fyock's arrest papers.
After talking to Turous, Fyock, a 14-year-old girl also in the crash and employees of two distributors in Mount Union, police said they learned Fyock bought a case of beer before Fyock and Turous drove to the camp. Once there, Turous drank three or four of the Miller Lites and then drove Fyock to Nanty Glo, stopping again at a different Mount Union beer distributor to pick up another case of Miller Lite.
After the Sept. 25 crash, Miller Lite cans littered Blair Street along with other debris from the wreck. Police allege Turous drank beer from both cases and Turous admitted to police he drank his last beer in Nanty Glo. His blood-alcohol level was 0.116 percent - more than five times the legal limit for a minor - about 2 hours after the crash, police note.
Fyock's blood-alcohol level was 0.095 percent about two hours after the crash, police allege.
According to police, the then-14-year-old girl told officers that Miller and she didn't know the two had been drinking until they were already in the car. Turous became agitated with the girl after she received some text messages and began driving fast during the trip back to Newton Hamilton, she told police.
The girl, who said she pleaded with Turous to slow down, sent a text message to her mom telling her Turous was driving fast, drunk and reckless after the mother texted the teen to see if everything was all right, police said.
Turous began passing cars on both sides of Third Avenue in Duncansville and sideswiped a vehicle, taking its mirror off, the girl told police.
When Turous sped through a red light in front of a police officer, he accelerated, the girl told police. The girl, who was seated in the front passenger seat, said when she looked at the car's speedometer just before the crash, she saw they were traveling at more than 100 mph, police noted.
Fyock was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Paula Aigner and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is slated for July 31 before Aigner.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.
