Saturday, July 25, 2015

1 man dies in ATV crash after he had been previously convicted of driving under the influence and driving an unregistered vehicle




West Mahanoy Township, Schuylkill County, PA
 

A West Mahanoy Township man who was to be sentenced in August for driving an all-terrain vehicle while intoxicated died Wednesday as the result of an ATV accident last week in Raven Run.

Steven R. Mahmod, 48, of Lower William Penn, died at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville.

West Mahanoy Township police Patrolman Raymond J. Tonkinson III said Mahmod was driving about 4:50 p.m. July 15 on Raven Run Road when he lost control of the ATV. Mahmod fell off the ATV, struck the road and suffered injuries, Tonkinson said.

Shenandoah ALS and Lost Creek EMS assisted at the scene, Tonkinson said.
Mahmod was originally scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Friday for driving under the influence and driving an unregistered vehicle, charges that resulted from an ATV incident in October 2013.

A Schuylkill County jury had found Mahmod guilty on June 1 of DUI. Judge John E. Domalakes, who presided over Mahmod’s one-day trial, found him guilty of driving an unregistered vehicle but dismissed a charge of operating a vehicle without required financial responsibility.

West Mahanoy Township police had alleged Mahmod was driving under the influence on Oct. 4, 2013, on Route 54 near William Penn in the township. Mahmod had a blood alcohol level of 0.254 percent, police said; the legal limit in Pennsylvania for driving is .08 percent.

Tonkinson, who was the prosecuting officer, testified at Mahmod’s trial that he saw the defendant approaching him on the ATV.

Claude A.L. Shields, Pottsville, Mahmod’s lawyer, declined Friday to comment on the case.

District Attorney Christine A. Holman said Friday that under Pennsylvania law, Mahmod’s death does not nullify his conviction, but his estate could petition for an expungement of his criminal record after he has been dead for three years.