Cambria County Courthouse

Teen to be tried as adult after fatal

HOLLIDAYSBURG - A Cambria County teenager will stand trial as an adult in Blair County Court on charges he crashed his car at high speed in September, killing a 16-year-old passenger.

Ruling from the bench Thursday, Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva said while Daniel Paul Sullivan Turous is "a troubled person," she was denying his public defender's motion to move his case to juvenile court.

It is out of a concern it wouldn't meet the varying needs of those involved, including the community, the victims and Turous himself, Kopriva said.

Turous, 17, of 267 Blacklick Road, Vintondale, faces 33 charges, including homicide by vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering others for the Sept. 25 crash on the 300 block of Blair Street in Hollidaysburg that killed Kelsey Lynn Miller, 16, of Nanty Glo.

Miller's father, Francisco Miller of Johnstown, said Kopriva's ruling to allow the case to move ahead in adult court was the right decision, one the family had hoped would come down, although it doesn't bring back his daughter and ultimately affects Turous' family as well as Kelsey's.

"It hurts. It hurts very much," Miller said. "This is just the beginning."

Turous was already speeding through Duncansville when a patrolman activated his lights to pull over the teenager's car in which Miller, a 14-year-old girl and Patrick Fyock, 21, of Vintondale were passengers, police said.

Police said Turous pushed the vehicle to more than 100 mph before hitting a curb and flipping the vehicle.

After the car came to a rest at Blair and Montgomery streets, Turous allegedly climbed over his injured passengers and fled before being apprehended a short time later by police.

Two defense experts concluded Turous was an emotionally stunted boy who would benefit from five years of treatment to address a condition called oppositional defiant disorder. But Kopriva pointed out that if adjudicated through the juvenile system, Turous would receive only receive treatment and supervision for three years, until he was 21 years old.

"That's where it falls short of the assurance the system can give you the help you need," Kopriva told Turous.

Turous' run-in with state police in Cambria County five months after the fatal crash was also telling, Kopriva said.

Police said Turous, on an ATV with a 15-year-old girl passenger, fled when police attempted to stop the 17-year-old who was riding the machine on the road. While Turous' mother, Melissa Sullivan, testified Thursday that her son showed remorse and suffered sleepless nights filled with flashback images of Kelsey Miller's face and the skidding car, Kopriva pointed out that a mere months after the accident he showed scant signs the horrific crash had left any impression by fleeing police on the ATV. The lights of the troopers patrol car should have triggered thoughts of the Sept. 25 crash, causing him to stop, Kopriva said.

Cambria County Court House

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Sesquicentennial Cambria County, 1804-1954

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