Man convicted in fatal wrong-way DUI crash denied appeal motion

Katie Smolen, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

May 9—EBENSBURG, Pa. — A West Virginia man convicted of killing 20-year-old Olivia Red as a result of a wrong-way DUI crash in 2018 has had his motion to reinstate his post-sentence appeal rights denied by a Cambria County judge.

Judge Patrick T. Kiniry issued the order on April 26, denying a motion made in March by Chase Edward Turner, 31, and his attorney, Tim Burns, to have his rights reinstated.

Last June, Turner was sentenced by Kiniry to eight to 16 years in prison for the U.S. Route 219 crash on May 31, 2018, that killed Red and caused life-changing injuries to her passenger, Angela Phillips. Turner also received two years of probation.

Late last year, Turner filed a petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act, which allows individuals who have pleaded guilty or been found guilty of a crime to argue that a new trial or other relief may be warranted.

At a hearing before Kiniry in March, Burns, who is now representing Turner, said that Karen Kuebler, one of Turner's attorneys during the trial, did not file an appeal on his behalf.

At the time, Turner testified that he had asked her to file an appeal the day he was sentenced and never followed up because he believed that an appeal had been filed.

Kuebler testified that when she met with Turner in the holding cell the day of the sentencing, she discussed options with Turner, but did not want him and his wife to make any decisions until they digested the news, and said that she would contact him in a few days.

In a conference call with him several days later when he was at the SCI-Smithfield, Turner told Kuebler that he did not want to proceed with an appeal, she said in her testimony.

In the opinion, Kiniry said the issue in the case is one of credibility. The opinion notes that none of Turner's testimony was corroborated by other witnesses, whereas Kuebler's testimony was supported by emails she sent to the court at the time, indicating that Turner did not wish to file an appeal and that she would be withdrawing as his counsel.

During the hearing in March, Burns submitted the case of Commonwealth v. Rivera to the court and said while it was not an identical situation, he felt it was similar as the defendant's attorney did not file any post sentence appeal rights.

In the opinion, Kiniry writes that Turner's case is unlike Rivera, as Rivera did not inform his attorneys that he did not wish to file an appeal.

The opinion states that Turner was not abandoned by his trial counsel, was informed of his post-sentence rights and that Kuebler's testimony was credible. The opinion added that Turner failed to establish that he requested trial counsel to file a direct appeal on his behalf.