BUCKHANNON – A Randolph County man was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol prior to a vehicle accident that resulted in a passenger’s death.

Christie C. McClure Jr., 58, of Helvetia, was arrested last week for DUI causing death, a felony, in connection to a wreck in August that resulted in his father’s death.

According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by investigating officer Trooper First Class P.J. Robinette with the Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police, on Monday Aug. 2, 2021, at approximately 1 p.m. Robinette and another law enforcement officer responded to the scene of a motor vehicle crash on Hemlock Ridge Road in Tallmansville.

Upon arrival, Robinette saw a red 2006 Ford F-150 truck resting against a standing tree on the western roadway edge with heavy front-end damage. The vehicle appeared to have been traveling north when it drove off the roadway and hit a tree head on with its front bumper, according to the file.

The report says Robinette also saw a male in the cab of the truck lying across the passenger and driver’s side seats. Emergency responders told Robinette that the man, Christie Coy McClure, the father of the driver, was dead when they arrived on scene. Robinette then talked with the driver of the vehicle, the son of the deceased passenger, Christy Coy McClure Jr., who was standing outside the vehicle with EMS and fire personnel, the report says.

McClure, the son, had a large laceration above his right eye, which was bleeding heavily and when interacting with McClure, Robinette could allegedly smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person, according to the file.

When the son, McClure Jr., was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital for treatment, at the request of police, he consented to a blood draw to determine blood alcohol content, the complaint says.

A month later, on Thursday Sept. 2, 2021, at approximately 6 p.m., Robinette retrieved the West Virginia State Police forensic laboratory report, which indicated the son’s blood alcohol content had been .217 grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood at the time of the wreck.

Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $25,000 cash or surety.

The penalty for a conviction of DUI causing death is confinement in a state prison for not less than three nor more than 15 years, a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000, and the revocation of the person’s driver’s license by the commissioner of the W.Va. Division of Motor Vehicles for a period of 10 years or for a period of time dependent on her or his participation in the test-and-lock program.