LEWISTOWN - A Newton Hamilton man involved in a fatal accident on Oct. 8, 2011, along U.S. 22 near Jacks Mountain Road, was charged late Thursday night with two counts of vehicular homicide.
Carl D. Briggs, 42, was driving a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer and at about 4:30 p.m. hit a motorcycle driven by 64-year-old Bruce E. Kauffman Jr., nearly head on, police said. Kauffman and his wife Judy K. Kauffman, 63, both died at the scene of the accident.
Police said pieces of Kauffman's 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle were scattered in both the east and west bound lanes, including two helmets.
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Carl D. Briggs
Police found pieces of clothing stuck in the front tire and rim of the SUV, along with blood down the right side of the vehicle, court documents indicate. There were no signs of braking from Briggs' vehicle.
Police spoke with a witness at the scene of the accident that claimed Briggs was attempting to pass their vehicle on the left side, colliding with the motorcycle moments later. The witness tried to slow down so Briggs could get out of the motorcycle's lane of travel, court documents indicate.
Police said they spoke at the scene with Briggs, who appeared to be slow and sluggish with bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol.
Briggs told police he had been at a friend's house drinking beers, but he was not drunk and agreed to have a blood-alcohol test done at Lewistown Hospital.
According to court documents, Briggs blood test came back with a blood-alcohol content of .077, which is not in excess of the legal limit. However, an expert for the commonwealth indicated Briggs' BAC at the time of the accident was between .08 and .1084, which is above legal limit.
Briggs was arraigned at Magisterial District Judge Aaron Gingrich's office and charged with two counts each of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, involuntary manslaughter, DUI, and several summary traffic offenses.
Briggs remains incarcerated in the Mifflin County Correctional Facility in lieu of $150,000 bail.
Briggs is being represented by State College attorney Joseph Amendola, who is also lead defense attorney for former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in his child sex abuse case. Briggs is expected to appear for central court on May 23 in the Mifflin County Court of Common Pleas. A preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled.
