Fayette DA’s son enters ARD program for six months
The son of Fayette County’s district attorney was admitted to the county’s pretrial diversionary program in connection with an alcohol-related wrong-way crash on Route 119 last August.
Richard Bower Jr., 29, of Connellsville will spend six months on the county’s accelerated rehabilitative disposition (ARD) program, which he was admitted to on Friday by President Judge John F. Wagner Jr.
The ARD program allows for criminal charges to be expunged from a person’s record upon successful completion.
Along with abiding with all the usual terms and conditions of the program, Bower’s driver’s license was suspended for 60 days, and he is to participate in the Alcohol Safe Driving School.
On Aug. 7, Bower Jr.’s SUV crossed the divided highway and crashed head-on into another vehicle in the southbound lanes of Route 119 in Dunbar Township, heavily damaging both vehicles. Police said his blood-alcohol content was .172%, more than double the legal limit for drivers.
He was originally charged Sept. 29, but questions were raised after his father, District Attorney Richard Bower Sr., appointed a Uniontown attorney to serve as special prosecutor on the case.
A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Bower Sr. erred in appointing a special prosecutor because the case involved a family member. The spokeswoman said Bower Sr. should have immediately recused himself and asked the attorney general’s office to oversee the investigation, which he then did.
The case against Bower Jr. was dismissed, and then refiled, with state prosecutors overseeing it. In March, Bower Jr. waived two misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and three summary offenses to common pleas court.
Additionally, state prosecutors charged the other driver involved in the crash, Joshua Willard, 37, of Adah. Last month, Willard waived a single count of driving under the influence of a controlled substance to common pleas court.