A Seneca man has been charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI in connection with the death of an Oil City man who was struck and killed by a vehicle on Innis Street near its intersection with Route 257 in Cranberry Township last October.
Franklin state police filed charges Wednesday against Logan Miller, 25, who is facing several other charges in addition to the homicide by vehicle while DUI charge.
Police said in a criminal complaint that Miller, who was driving a BMW south on Innis Street near Route 257 at about 8:45 p.m. last Oct. 27, struck Michael McSparren, 61.
McSparren was transported to UPMC Northwest for treatment, then he was later flown by Life Flight helicopter to UPMC Hamot in Erie, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room about two hours after he had been hit by the vehicle, Franklin state police said at the time of the accident.
Police said in the complaint they determined there were no witnesses to the crash.
An open partial 12 pack of beer could be seen in plain view on the floor of Miller’s vehicle behind the front passenger seat, the complaint said.
And Miller, who showed signs of impairment, admitted to police he had consumed alcoholic beverages several hours prior to the crash and had taken prescription medicines, according to the complaint.
Franklin police said in a press release at the time that Miller was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and the case remained under investigation pending toxicology reports and a state police collision analysis report.
The complaint also notes that Miller had a previous DUI conviction in 2019 and was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in that case.
When troopers got a warrant and searched Miller’s car last Nov. 8, they found a bag and pill container that both contained marijuana as well as drug paraphernalia for smoking marijuana, the complaint said.
On Dec. 7, the toxicology report for Miller showed that on the night of Oct. 27 his BAC was .059% and that Delta-9 THC, Alprazolam, Imipramine, Desipramine and Ziprasidone were also found in his blood, the complaint said.
The investigation remained ongoing for many months and the charges against Miller weren’t filed until Wednesday.
He was charged with felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI and homicide by vehicle, misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, DUI/unsafe driving, marijuana-small amount personal use, use/possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of alcohol/controlled substance, and three summary traffic violations.
He was arraigned Wednesday evening and placed in the Venango County jail, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 13, in Central Court.
