HARRISBURG – Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that a Pennsylvania State Trooper was convicted Friday of vehicular homicide for causing a fatal crash last year when he was off-duty, on his way to work, in Tioga County.
A Tioga County jury returned the verdict against Michael J. Brown on Friday afternoon following a week-long trial regarding the February 11, 2023, collision that killed 47-year-old Christine Woodward.
Brown was convicted of felony homicide by vehicle. A Columbia County Senior Judge also found Brown guilty of summary traffic violations.
Brown remains free on bail until sentencing.
According to testimony, Brown attempted to pass a vehicle illegally across double yellow lines on Route 6, and struck an oncoming vehicle.
“We are grateful for the jury’s time and careful deliberation of the facts in this case, which involved the devastating loss of life of a beloved mother who was also a devoted teacher,” Attorney General Henry said. “To compound the tragedy, it was completely preventable as the defendant did not have to drive with such reckless disregard to the safety of others on a rural road that cold February evening.”
The investigation revealed that on the night of February 11, 2023, the defendant was traveling west in a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Route 6 in Sullivan Township, headed to work at his barracks in Tioga County. In an attempt to pass a westbound vehicle in front of him, the defendant’s Jeep crossed double yellow lines and struck an oncoming vehicle that was ascending a hill on the roadway.
Woodward died at the scene.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Phillips, Deputy Attorney General Philip McCarthy, and Senior Deputy Attorney General Tracy Piatkowski.
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