Jury convicts Upper Moreland man in DUI crash

NORRISTOWN >> A jury convicted an Upper Moreland man of driving under the influence of methamphetamine and causing a headon two-vehicle crash in Lower Moreland that seriously injured the second driver.

Troy C. Pick, 56, of the 200 block of Cowbell Road, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence of a controlled substance, aggravated assault by a vehicle and DUI in connection with the 5:13 a.m. Oct. 18, 2018, crash in the 900 block of Byberry Road.

The victim of the crash, a 73-year-old man driving the second vehicle, suffered two broken legs, five broken ribs, a spinal injury and a neck injury, police alleged. Testimony revealed the man has undergone numerous surgeries and has not been able to work since the crash.

The jury reached the verdict after hearing testimony, including from the victim, at the three-day trial before Judge Steven T. O’Neill.

O’Neill deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Pick, which will include drug and alcohol evaluations. Pick, who also was injured in the crash and walked with the aid of crutches during the trial, was permitted to remain free on bail pending his sentencing hearing.

As bail conditions, the judge ordered Pick to surrender his driver’s license and prohibited him from driving. O’Neill said Pick also will face random and frequent drug testing while free on bail.

Pick, who is represented by defense lawyer Vincent M. Vangrossi, faces a possible maximum sentence of 8½ to 17 years in prison on the charges. However, State sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Frank Frame vowed to seek a state prison term against Pick.

“This crime is especially heinous because this victim’s life is changed forever. After suffering these injuries he will never be able to work again. The effects are life changing for the victim,” Frame said.

“Our office takes these drug-based impairment cases very seriously,” Frame added.

Co-prosecutor Douglas Lavenberg argued at trial that Pick started a chain of events from which there was no escape.

The investigation began when Lower Moreland police were dispatched to a reported crash with injuries along the 900 block of Byberry Road. Upon arrival, police found two severely damaged vehicles.

“The crash was a headon collision of two pickup trucks on the crest of a hill,” Lower Moreland Police Officer James Seif wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Police found Pick, the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado, lying on a lawn south of the roadway and determined he had a broken leg.

“He was very talkative but seemed not to be worried about the situation and was very matter of fact about it,” Seif alleged. “Pick volunteered that the accident was his fault because it took place while he was attempting to pass a vehicle ahead of him.”

A witness reported he was traveling behind Pick’s vehicle, eastbound on Byberry Road, when Pick tried to pass another vehicle, traveled into the westbound lane and struck another pickup truck head-on, according to the criminal complaint.

Police said the two-lane roadway with no shoulders is divided by a solid, double yellow line down the center of the roadway.

First responders said they detected an odor of alcohol on Pick’s breath and Pick said he had been drinking the night before and he claimed he takes medication for pain, according to the arrest affidavit.

Authorities sought blood tests during the investigation and those tests determined Pick’s blood tested positive for methamphetamine, “a stimulant drug capable of causing hallucinations, aggressive behavior and irrational reactions,” according to the arrest affidavit.

“I told him that methamphetamine was found in his blood and he had no comment on why it was in his system,” Seif alleged.

The trial, at times, became a battle of medical experts.

Vangrossi relied on a defense expert who suggested Pick was not impaired by the drug at the time of the crash.

But prosecutors relied on another medical expert who testified that the signs and symptoms displayed from Pick’s driving were consistent with impairment.

Prosecutors also presented the testimony of a crash reconstruction expert, Lower Moreland Police Officer Francis Cattie.