Benner Township Man Charged with Homicide While DUI for Fatal Centre Hall Mountain Crash

A Benner Township man was charged with homicide on Friday after police said he was driving drunk when he caused an August crash on Centre Hall mountain that killed one person and injured three others.

Anatoliy Y. Kolosov, 37, was driving a Mercedes SUV southbound on the 800 block of South Main Street in Pleasant Gap around 8:05 p.m. on Aug. 20 when he crossed over into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a Chevrolet Equinox, according to a criminal complaint filed by Spring Township police.

Kolosov displayed signs of impairment and medical records later showed he had a blood alcohol content of .186, more than twice the legal limit for driving, police wrote. He also was traveling at “a high rate of speed,” according to the complaint.

He had two previous DUI convictions at the time of the crash and a bench warrant out of Adams County for another DUI charge on Aug. 2, for which he pleaded guilty earlier this month.

Kolosov’s vehicle was not equipped with an ignition interlock device for blood alcohol monitoring that was required because of his DUI convictions, police wrote.

Richard DeVinney, a 79-year-old front passenger in the vehicle struck by Kolosov, was taken by helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, where he died five days later as a result of injuries from the crash. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office determined his cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, neck and trunk.

DeVinney, of Bellefonte, was a respiratory therapist at Mount Nittany Medical Center for more than 50 years, a father of two children and grandfather of six, according to his obituary.

“The death fo Richard DeVinney is a tragic reminder of the senseless harm that drunk drivers can cause,” Spring Township police wrote in a statement. “STPD implores drivers not to drink and drive.”

A 49-year-old woman who was driving the Equinox sustained serious injuries and was transferred to Penn State Hershey Medical Center. She is immobile because of a compound leg fracture sustained in the crash and is “in need of around the clock care,” according to the complaint.

A juvenile female passenger in the Equinox also was taken to Hershey Medical Center. She suffered spinal fractures that require a neck brace, facial fractures and had a number of teeth knocked out, police wrote.

A 23-year-old male passenger was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and required surgery for a broken tibia.

Kolosov was flown to UPMC Altoona for moderate injuries and released a few days later. His passenger was not injured.

Kolosov declined to speak to police about the crash, according to the complaint.

He is charged with one felony count of homicide by vehicle while DUI and four felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, as well as two counts of DUI, a misdemeanor for failure to have the required ignition interlock device and five summary traffic offenses.

He was arraigned on Friday District Judge Gregory Koehle and denied bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5.