From staff reports
LEWISTOWN - A Newton Hamilton man involved in a fatal accident on Oct. 8, 2011, along U.S. 22/522 near Jacks Mountain Road, waived his formal arraignment on vehicular homicide charges on Tuesday and the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
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, Pennsylvania State Police Lewistown said.
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Carl D. Briggs
Kauffman and his wife Judy K. Kauffman, 63, both died at the scene of the accident.
Police said there were no signs of braking from Briggs' vehicle.
Police said they 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 with Briggs at the scene 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 take a blood-alcohol test at Lewistown Hospital, according to documents.
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 in excess of legal limit.
Briggs is 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 free on $150,000 bail. He is represented by Joe Amendola. No trial date has been set.
