In firefighter's death, some charges against driver dropped. What to know

Citing issues with a blood draw, the Erie County District Attorney's Office is withdrawing DUI-related charges against the motorist charged with causing the accident that killed volunteer firefighter Shawn Giles as he was directing traffic at a crash scene in North East Township in August.

The motorist still faces a number of other serious charges, including the third-degree felonies of homicide by vehicle and causing a fatal accident while not licensed.

If the motorist is convicted of all the remaining charges, the potential maximum sentence would be 29 years, the prosecution said. He is at risk for a lengthy sentence because he is still accused of charges such as homicide by vehicle involving a death in an emergency response area.

The withdrawal of the DUI-related charges, made Monday at a hearing in Erie County Common Pleas Court, removes the possibility that the motorist, Dawann M. Simmons, 42, would get a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years if he were convicted of the second-degree felony of homicide by vehicle while DUI.

Blood draw at issue with DUI charges

The prosecution's decision to drop the DUI-related charges was based on the timing of the blood draw from Simmons following the accident, the prosecution said. The state police used the draw to allege that Simmons was under the influence.

The withdrawal of the charges was connected "to the collection of the blood draw in this case," Chief Deputy District Attorney Steven Liboski told Judge Daniel Brabender at Monday's hearing.

The state police waited longer than the statutory limit of two hours to take blood samples from Simmons following the accident, which occurred shortly before 12:50 p.m. on Aug. 20 at the intersection of Route 20 and Brickyard Road in North East Township.

Troopers arranged for the blood draw 4 hours and 18 minutes after Simmons was taken into custody, according to testimony at Simmons' preliminary hearing, in October.

State law allows for exceptions to the two-hour rule, and Liboski at the preliminary hearing said the need for medical attention for Simmons was one reason for the delay. He also said state police were trying to figure out what happened during and after the fatal crash.

Using the blood draw, investigators extrapolated that Simmons' blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.093% to 0.114%, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing. The legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania is 0.08%.

Toxicology tests showed Simmons also had marijuana in his system, police said. Evidence of suspected marijuana use will not be presented at trial due the to withdrawal of the DUI-related charges, the District Attorney's Office said.

Victim was wearing high-visibility outfit when struck

Though the DUI-related charges are no longer part of the case, the prosecution can still highlight that Giles was killed in an emergency response area. A conviction for vehicular homicide in an emergency response area can add up to five years to the maximum sentence of seven years for vehicular homicide.

Giles, 53, was killed as he was directing traffic as part of his fire police duties for the volunteer Fuller Hose Co. in North East, police said. He was wearing a fluorescent green shirt and holding a bright orange flag when he was struck, police said. He had been diverting traffic around the scene of a two-car accident.

State police said Simmons was speeding in the 55-mph zone when his 2007 Lexus RX350 drove into Giles and threw him 15 to 20 feet in the air. State police said Simmons told investigators he was attempting to change lanes as he approached the accident scene when Giles jumped in front of his Lexus.

"I am not a criminal," Simmons said at Monday's hearing. "I am trying to prove that this was an honest accident."

The District Attorney's Office is contending that Simmons alone was to blame for the fatality.

Dispute over representation delays motorist's trial

Simmons was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but Judge Brabender at the hearing ordered the trial postponed for a month.

He ruled after reviewing a request from Simmons' court-appointed lawyer, Keith Clelland, that he be allowed to withdraw from the case due to lack of cooperation from a "quarrelsome" Simmons, who is out on bond.

"It is just one thing after another," Clelland said.

Brabender agreed to let Clelland withdraw from the case once Simmons hires his own lawyer, as Simmons said he plans to do. Brabender said he was concerned the case could come back on appeal if he let Simmons go to trial without representation or with Clelland as his lawyer.

Liboski, the prosecutor, objected to the postponement of the trial. He spoke to Brabender as he referred to the Fuller Hose Co. firefighters who filled several rows in the gallery. Sitting with them was Giles' wife, Adele.

The community of North East and the Giles family "have been through enough waiting for this trial," Liboski said.

Adele Giles stood up in the gallery and held up a portrait of her husband.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: DUI charges dropped in death of North East firefighter