By RODNEY L. SHERMAN
Staff writer
BROOKVILLE – A 33-year-old Shippenville man was charged last week with homicide by vehicle stemming from a crash last December along Route 322 in Union Township, Jefferson County, that killed an 11-year-old Big Run girl.
Mark Anthony Andrus is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle while DUI, three counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, one count of homicide by vehicle, three counts each of endangering the welfare of children and accidents involving death or injury while driving without a proper license, four counts each of simple assault and reckless endangerment of another person, one count of accidents involving death or injury while driving without a proper license, and a number of driving violations.
State police said Andrus lost control of his 2002 Dodge Neon on Dec. 9 on snow-covered roads and struck a 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by a 48-year-old Brookville woman.
Andrus had four passengers in his vehicle, including the young girl who was killed – an adult female and two other juveniles.
Online court records indicate Andrus’ bail is set at $100,000 on the charges in Jefferson County. But online courts records also indicate Andrus remains in the Clarion County jail on various charges he faces in Clarion County.
While the charges related the fatal crash were filed March 15 in Jefferson County, Andrus was facing a list of charges in Clarion County at the end of 2016.
He was already facing three separate DUI charges when he was charged with perjury after he allegedly appeared at a bail hearing and denied consuming any alcohol.
All those cases are working their way through the Clarion County court system, although those cases might now take a back seat to the charges in Jefferson County.
Andrus was charged in late December with a single count of perjury. He also is charged with DUI on Aug. 13, Sept. 3 and Nov. 12, all in 2016. In the November case, Andrus also faces charges of endangering the welfare of children.
In addition to the three DUI cases pending in Clarion County, Andrus was charged with simple assault in September. That charge was withdrawn when Andrus agreed to plead guilty to two summary charges.
In Clarion County in the past two years, Andrus also has been cited for two other summary offenses.
