More than a year after being involved in a fatal one-car accident, a 51-year-old Bristol man was charged with homicide while driving under the influence.
Dean Wyckoff admitted to police that he took two prescription pain pills and drank at least three 24-ounce Bud Lights between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. March 14, 2013, before heading out to a Bristol Township bar to buy an electronic cigarette, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Wyckoff never made it to the bar, though. Police say his Hyundai hit a concrete barrier, jumped a guardrail along southbound Route 13 near the Tyburn Road exit and flipped several times before landing in Martins Creek around 11:30 a.m.
Wyckoff’s front seat passenger, Steven Carroll, 57, of Trenton, was fatally injured and pronounced dead later that day.
One witness told police she first noticed Wyckoff’s car as she yielded onto southbound Route 13 from the northbound Route 1 exit. His car was changing lanes, slowing down and then speeding up, she said in the affidavit.
Through her rearview mirror, she saw the car strike the concrete barrier, court records show.
After striking the barrier and then hitting the guardrail, the car went airborne, the witness claimed. The Hyundai then landed nose down and flipped over two or three times before stopping on the opposite side of the creek, partially submerged in the water, according to court documents.
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| Dean Wyckoff |
Another witness traveling south on Route 13 reported that Wyckoff’s car was traveling “too slow” for the highway, estimating its speed as under 50 mph, the affidavit said. The second witness also said he saw Wyckoff’s car in his rearview mirror shoot across the highway from the right to the left lane and strike the concrete barrier, police said.
After striking the barrier, the witness said the car returned to the right lane at a high rate of speed and passed his car, coming within feet of hitting it, court documents said. Wyckoff’s car then hit the guardrail and went over it, police said.
At the time of the accident, Wyckoff had told police that he was cut off while traveling south on Route 13, police said.
Wyckoff showed signs of possible intoxication after the accident and submitted to blood tests, which showed his blood alcohol level was .153, almost twice the legal limit for drivers, police added. He also had marijuana metabolites in his system, they said.
Wyckoff was arraigned late Sunday night on charges of homicide by vehicle while under the influence, homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and related misdemeanor and summary traffic violations. He was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $50,000.
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