CLEARFIELD – A Woodland man accused of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence pleaded guilty Monday during sentencing court.
Michael Keith Rose, 30, was sentenced to 18 months to seven years in state prison by Judge Paul E. Cherry.
Prior to sentencing, he told the judge he was taking full accountability and was “very sorry” for his actions.
The charges stem from an accident along state Route 729, south of Lumber City in Ferguson Township, on Dec. 20, 2019 when he struck another vehicle head on, killing a 30-year-old Curwensville man.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when police arrived at the scene, both vehicles were in the northbound lane and the second vehicle was on fire with fire personnel working to put it out.
The second unit operator was being worked on by emergency personnel. Later, he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Rose, the driver of the first vehicle, was questioned in the back of an ambulance.
He told police he believed he slid on ice, which caused him to lose control and travel into the oncoming lane where he struck the second vehicle head on.
Witnesses at the scene reported there was no ice on the roadway when they arrived on scene, shortly after the collision.
A crash reconstruction report concluded that Rose was traveling at approximately 56 miles per hour at the time of the crash. This area is posted as a 35 mph zone.
When investigators received a copy of Rose’s medical records, it showed he was under the influence of methamphetamine when the accident occurred.
An autopsy report listed the victim’s cause of death as hypoxia, due to a flash fire in the vehicle. A contributing factor was a retroperitoneal hemorrhage due to the crash, according to the complaint.
