FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — An Oil City man is facing a laundry list of charges following an alleged DUI crash that occurred in Rockland Township, Venango County.

According to court documents, Franklin-based State Police filed criminal charges against 33-year-old Russell Ray Heckathorne, Jr., of Oil City.

According to a criminal complaint, around 2:48 a.m. on October 30, Troopers Siegel and Orrvick, of PSP Franklin, were dispatched to the intersection of State Routes 38 and 322 in Rockland Township for a report of a single motor vehicle crash.

During an interview with the known, male passenger, he stated that he and the driver of the vehicle — Russell Ray Heckathorne, Jr. — were on their way home from the bar. Police noted that the known passenger, who was in an ambulance, could not move his legs, the complaint states.

A witness who arrived at the scene of the accident around 3:35 a.m. stated that a man in a striped shirt was on the driver’s side of the vehicle, the complaint continues.

Police interviewed Heckathorne in the ambulance at the crash scene. He stated that “he was the car’s passenger, and he did not remember what happened.” Police noted that Heckathorne was wearing an off-white long sleeve polo-type shirt with horizontal stripes. Dried and fresh blood was on his head and face, in addition to a laceration on his head at the top of his forehead at the hairline. Police smelled a moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, according to the complaint.

Police also noted that the known, male passenger, who was interviewed earlier, was wearing a dark colored shirt, the complaint indicates.

Police interviewed the witness again by phone around 7:05 a.m. on November 1. She stated that she heard the crash and walked down to it. “The car was on its roof, and the the driver (Heckathorne) was in the driver’s seat upside down. He kept trying to start the car’s engine, and (the witness) and her boyfriend had to tell him to stop because the car was upside down. She knew there was another person in the car because he kept calling the guy in the driver’s seat “Rusty.” She said that the driver eventually worked himself free from the driver’s seat. She could smell alcohol coming from the car,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, “Heckathorne consented to a chemical test and blood was drawn. His BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was 0.185%.”

A search warrant was applied for and issued by District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey for the passenger’s medical records. The medical records revealed that he suffered injury of “a T10 burst fracture and spinal cord compression with paraplegia as a result of the crash,” the complaint indicates.

Following an investigation, Franklin State Police filed the following charges against Heckathorne in Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey’s office:

– DUI: General Impairment/Incompetent of Driving Safely — 1st Offense, Misdemeanor
– DUI: Highest Rte of Alcohol (BAC .16+) 1st Offense, Misdemeanor
– Aggravated Assault By Vehicle While DUI, Felony 2
– Accident Involving Death/Injury-Not Properly Licensed, Felony 3
– Driving at Safe Speed, Summary
– Careless Driving, Summary
– Duties At Stop Sign, Summary
– Disregard Traffic Lane (Single), Summary
– Notice Of Change Of Name Or Address, Sumary
– Failure to Use Safety Belt — Driver and Front Seat Occupant, Summary
– Restrictions on Alcoholic Beverages, Summmay
– Driving While BAC .02 or Greater While License Suspended, Summary
– Disregard Traffic Devices, Summary

Court documents indicate the case is awaiting a preliminary hearing.