The New Castle man charged with ramming his vehicle into three motorcyclists at a major intersection of U.S. Route 219 in an August crash was arraigned Tuesday, and released on unsecured bail.
Thomas E. Williams, 61, was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge David Engman on one charge of aggravated assault by vehicle, a third-degree felony; and the following summary charges: careless driving, failure to carry registration, operating a vehicle without required financial responsibility, duties at a stop sign, driving at a safe speed and reckless driving.
Williams was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
According to court records, at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 20, a Pontiac Vibe driven by Williams was traveling east on Route 59, when it entered the intersection with Route 219, allegedly striking three motorcycles traveling north on Route 219. The motorcycles were operated by Michael Kerlin, Randy Caldwell and Kenneth Dunn; all three were seriously injured.
On Tuesday, McKean County District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg Shaffer declined to comment on pervasive rumors of an alleged affiliation of the victims with the Outlaw Motorcycle Club.
“Like many other people, I have read comments regarding the alleged affiliations of the motorcyclists who are victims of or witnesses to the crash that occurred on 219 near Tacks Inn,” Shaffer said.
“I observed some of these individuals at the scene that day. Because the conduct of these individuals was not criminal in nature, I would hate to surmise what affiliations they may have,” she explained.
“To date, the investigation has not revealed any violation of a crime or traffic code having been committed by them,” Shaffer asserted. “The motorcyclists injured continue in their recoveries.”
The criminal complaint filed in Engman’s office described the grim scene of the crash when emergency officials arrived.
When troopers arrived on the scene, CPR was being performed on Kerlin; Caldwell was lying in the parking lot of Tack’s Inn, and Dunn was lying in the northbound lane of Route 219, police said. All three were transported from the scene to Bradford Regional Medical Center with serious and life threatening injuries.
Troopers interviewed Williams at the scene. He told police he made a “brief stop” at the stop sign before entering the road, following a friend who was driving a separate vehicle.
One motorcyclist traveling with the injured men told police Williams “blew through the stop sign,” while one of the victims said he saw Williams “gun it to keep up with” the pick-up truck in front of him, court records stated.
All three motorcyclists were transferred from the scene for treatment of serious and life-threatening injuries; Williams and a passenger in his vehicle were not hurt, court records stated.
Analysis from Williams’ car showed it was traveling 43-44 mph at the time of the crash, according to court records.
The men were traveling to Olean, N.Y., to be part of the Rally in the Valley when the motorcycles were struck, according to rally organizer Larry Penman.
Court records listed Williams’ attorney as Matthew Mangino in New Castle.
A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for Oct. 31.
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(Era Reporter Ruth Bogdan contributed to this report.)
