A Charleroi man will serve at least two years in state prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to a drunken driving crash that killed his younger brother.
Bryan Devon Harris, 24, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and related counts stemming from the Jan. 11, 2020, crash on Route 51 in Baldwin near the Drive Time car dealership.
A criminal complaint filed in the case said Harris had been driving a pickup southbound on Route 51 shortly after 5 a.m. when he crossed the center line and crashed into another pickup.
Police said that Harris’ brother, Reyon Harris, 21, who was sitting in the left rear passenger seat, was unresponsive at the scene and died a short time later.
Two other passengers in Harris’ pickup also were injured. The driver of the other truck, who was headed that morning to drill for the military, also was injured.
The complaint said that when investigators first questioned Bryan Harris, he claimed he was the right rear passenger and not the driver. Investigators used DNA from the driver’s side airbag, as well as tissue on the windshield, to determine that Harris was the driver.
Harris told investigators that he and the others in the vehicle had been at Cheerleaders and then True Diamond and that he had four drinks prior to the crash.
Lab testing showed his blood alcohol level was 0.123%, above the legal limit of 0.08%, the complaint said.
In exchange for the plea, the district attorney’s office withdrew the charge of homicide by vehicle while DUI, which carries a mandatory prison term of three to six years.
