NEWBERRY TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, Pa.–Toxicology results released Monday by police show an Etters man who was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Newberry Township last month had alcohol in his system.
According to police, 46-year-old Anthony Fickes’ blood alcohol level was .255% (subclavical) and .211% (vitreous)–well above the legal limit in Pennsylvania–at the time of the crash. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
The crash happened on January 7 along Old Trail Road near Stevens Road in Newberry Township.
Police obtained surveillance footage of Fickes drinking at a local bar just prior to the crash on January 7. According to police reports, the video shows Fickes drinking 5 to 6 bottles of beer and taking three shots of liquor in approximately one hour and forty-five minutes.
Shortly after leaving the bar, Fickes was killed in a head-on crash with another vehicle along Old Trail Road. Edna Mikos, 66, of York Haven, who was a passenger in the other vehicle, was also killed. Four others, including three children, were seriously hurt in the wreck.
“You can commit DUI offenses as many times as you want, it’s not a felony,” Chief John Snyder of the Newberry Township Police Department said. “The laws need to get changed, and unfortunately we as police officers see this all the time where families are torn apart because of impaired driving. It’s a problem.”
Police said Fickes had two previous DUI arrests, prompting calls for stronger DUI laws.
“We have people all the time that we pull over that have 3, 4, 5, 6, up to 10 offenses prior to being stopped,” Snyder said. “The laws of Pennsylvania are not working.”
The accident is still under investigation.
