Man held for court in fatal Perry Township crash
A McKeesport man charged with criminal homicide for a vehicle crash in Perry Township had his case held for court on Tuesday.
James Earl Davis, 41, was charged with causing the death of Hope Derry, 29, of West Mifflin, when he allegedly veered off Route 51 and hit a tree while traveling northbound on Feb. 5, 2021. Derry was a passenger in the vehicle Davis was driving.
During a Tuesday preliminary hearing before District Judge Jason Cox, state police Trooper Patrick Biddle testified that Davis was driving a silver minivan while under the influence of amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC.
Biddle said that no drugs were found in the minivan, which was flipped upside down and on fire, but there were traces of drug paraphernalia such as needles found near the wreckage.
Also testifying was Melissa Drennan, who said she saw Davis’s van “flip in the air” as she was traveling on Route 51 around 10 am. Feb. 5.
Drennan said she did not see what caused the accident. When she pulled over to see if she could help, she testified she could hear Davis screaming.
“There were flames in the front end of the car, and there was a person screaming underneath the car so my initial reaction was to help him, even before I called for help,” Drennan said.
After she was able to save Davis, Drennan testified, was unable to rescue Derry because of the way her body was trapped underneath the metal.
In addition to criminal homicide, Davis is charged with accident involving death while not licensed, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and three counts of driving under the influence of a controlled substance. Cox held all of those charges for common pleas court.