‘American hero’ headed to prison for DUI crash
NORRISTOWN » Describing him as an “American hero who has lost his way,” a judge sent an Iraq war veteran to prison for driving under the influence of heroin at the time of a headon collision that severely injured two people in another car in Hatfield Township.
“You deserve respect for your service. There’s no doubt that you’re an American hero. While you’re an American hero, you’re an American hero who has lost his way,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein addressed Patrick Durell Kelly on Monday as she sentenced him to seven to 14 years in a state correctional facility.
“You drove under the influence of heroin in a car which you had no business driving. You could have easily killed them,” Rothstein added.
Kelly, 31, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who earned a Purple Heart, stood silently as he learned his fate after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated assault by a vehicle while driving under the influence of a controlled substance and DUI in connection with the 7 p.m. Jan. 31, 2017, two-vehicle crash in the 1000 block of Bethlehem Pike in Hatfield.
Testimony revealed Kelly, whose most recent address was in the 1700 block of South Easton Road in Doylestown, Bucks County, suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and became addicted to opioids after witnessing the horrors of war. Veterans Affairs made numerous treatment programs available to Kelly since 2010 but Kelly, who had two previous DUI convictions in 2010 and 2011, relapsed numerous times and at times showed little interest in the opportunities afforded to him to address his addiction, according to testimony.
Testimony revealed Kelly, while in jail awaiting sentencing, even tried to devise a scheme to smuggle drugs into the county jail.
“I spent countless hours reviewing your case,” Rothstein assured Kelly, adding Kelly left her with no other choice than to send him to state prison to get the help he needs. “This sentence is his best shot.”
Kelly’s military service and his struggle with addiction were not lost on Assistant District Attorney Kelli McGinnis, but she argued for a lengthy prison term, noting the horrific nature of the crash, Kelly’s previous DUI convictions, his choice to get behind the wheel while high on drugs and the need to protect the community.
“Everyone shows the most respect for his service to our country. But he has put others at risk over and over again. He decimated the lives of the victims. We can’t trust him with being out among everyone else,” McGinnis argued, adding state prison programs are available to help veterans.
The driver and a passenger in a 2010 Ford Fusion that was struck head-on by Kelly’s 2014 Honda Accord suffered serious injuries during the crash and were treated at area hospitals. The male driver suffered facial lacerations, a fractured nose and vertebrae in his back. The female passenger, who was ejected from the vehicle, suffered a fractured pelvis, shattered tailbone, shattered hip and broken hand and toes and underwent surgery, according the criminal complaint filed by Hatfield Police Sergeant Jeffrey A. Boyd.
When police arrived at the scene of the crash they found the male victim trapped inside the Ford Fusion, which sustained “massive front-end damage,” according to the arrest affidavit. The female front seat passenger “had been ejected from the vehicle and was found lying in the roadway visibly injured, along the passenger side of the Ford,” Boyd said.
“I didn’t even have time to react and we were hit head on,” the female passenger, a former Telford woman, wept as she recalled the horrific crash, adding she believed she was going to die as she lay on the roadway and later as she was treated at a trauma center.
The woman, who walked to court with the aid of a crutch, testified she still faces more surgery and physical therapy and that her life will never be the same.
Kelly’s Honda Accord was found resting on its roof having rolled after the collision. Kelly was able to crawl out of his vehicle under his own power and was later treated for minor injuries, police said.
Defense lawyer Michael Murphy argued for a sentence that allowed Kelly to address his PTSD and provide him mental health and drug and alcohol treatment.
Kelly’s mother and sister testified Kelly came home from the war a different man and struggled to get
his life on track. They testified they were “devastated” to learn Kelly had seriously injured others during the crash and they prayed for the crash victims.
Witnesses told police that Kelly’s Honda was traveling northbound on Bethlehem Pike near the intersection with Hilltown Pike when the Honda crossed the center median and struck the victim’s Ford Fusion head-on as it was in the southbound left turn lane.
When speaking with Kelly at the scene investigators observed he had pale skin, dilated pupils and slow speech, according to court papers. Police
also noticed several glassine bags on the ground near Kelly and also inside the Honda, as well as several hypodermic needles, court papers indicate. Such bags, police said, are often used to store illegal narcotics.
When police asked Kelly if he had used heroin Kelly allegedly stated he used “8 bags” about four hours before the crash, according to the criminal complaint. Kelly added he also takes prescription medications such as oxycodone and Xanax.
When asked about the crash, Kelly told police that he “saw an opening, went to drive through it and hit the other car,” investigators
alleged.
Other drivers traveling in the area at the time told police Kelly was driving erratically and speeding shortly before the crash. Police also obtained video surveillance from a business on Bethlehem Pike that captured the Honda traveling northbound at a high rate of speed and “vaulting” over the raised center concrete median into the southbound lanes, according to the arrest affidavit.
Kelly consented to a blood test and those tests revealed positive findings for cocaine and other controlled substances, according to the criminal complaint.