Stover

BUCKHANNON — A Huntington man faces a DUI felony charge in Upshur County after allegedly causing a collision that led to a juvenile’s serious injury.

Douglas Clayton Stover, 39, of Huntington is charged with one count of DUI causing serious bodily injury, a felony. He is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $30,000 cash-only bond.

A juvnile was transported by helicopter to receive medical treatment for a brain bleed after the accident in February.

According to the criminal complaint, filed by Deputy R.T. Lamb with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on Feb. 23, law enforcement officers were informed of a reckless driver “swerving all over the roadway,” traveling eastbound from Lewis County on U.S. Highway 33.

Shortly thereafter, Lamb witnessed a vehicle matching the description of the reckless driver approaching the Lower Childer’s Crossing Intersection, the complaint states. Lamb attempted to maneuver behind the vehicle to conduct a traffic stop; however, before he could conduct the stop, he observed the vehicle “fail to brake and collide in a rear-end style collision at a high rate of speed” with a vehicle that was stopped at a red light at the Lower Childer’s crossing intersection.

Lamb made contact with the driver of the suspect vehicle, who was identified as Stover, the complaint states. Stover was allegedly displaying slurred speech, struggled to communicate verbally, appeared disoriented and exhibited a blank stare. Stover allegedly complained of diabetic problems and stated that he felt “a little off.” He also allegedly admitted that he saw the traffic light turn red, but failed to stop or avoid the collision.

A search of a bag on Stover’s person allegedly resulted in the discovery of one unopened orange and white pill bottle prescribed to Stover containing “multiple Buprenorphine-Suboxone 8mg tablets scattered throughout the bag.”

On the same date, during a follow-up investigation at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Stover allegedly admitted to consuming both 1 mg of Benzodiazepine, also known as Xanax, and 1mg of Buprenorphine-Suboxone earlier in the day, the complaint states. Lamb stated that he also administered a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Field Sobriety Test on Stover and observed “signs of impairment in addition to a slow reaction to light of (Stover’s) pupils.”

The vehicle that was rear-ended in the collision was occupied by an adult male driver, an adult female front-seat passenger and two juvenile male passengers in the back-seats, the complaint states. Both juveniles were transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital due to injuries sustained from the collision. One of the juveniles had to be flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown due to a brain bleed.

Stover allegedly has one pending charge in Putnam County for DUI impaired state from an incident on Feb. 7 and was out on bond when the Feb. 23 incident occurred.

A preliminary hearing for Stover is scheduled for today in Upshur County Magistrate Court.