Montco Man Charged With Friend’s Death After Car Crash

Left: Corey Adam Mitchell in photo provided by Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. Right: Erik Detweiler in an obituary photo.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele has announced charges against a 26-year-old Montgomery County man after a car crash that killed his friend.

Souderton’s Corey Adam Mitchell has been charged with homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence, among other offenses. He was driving a car on December 27th shortly after 2 a.m when he allegedly went through a red light and directly into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer, which smashed into the car and killed Mitchell’s passenger, 25-year-old California man Erik Detweiler, who was home for the holidays visiting family in Quakertown.

Police on the scene smelled alcohol on Mitchell’s breath, and he was unable to stand up straight. Investigators drew Mitchell’s blood and found a blood alcohol concentration of .154% as well as evidence that he had used marijuana. The legal limit for blood alcohol concentration in Pennsylvania is .08%.

Prior to the crash, Mitchell and Detweiler had been drinking at Double Visions Bar, a strip club on Easton Road. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Mitchell consumed at least eight drinks between 9:35 p.m. and 2:05 a.m., when the pair left. The complaint goes on to allege that Mitchell drove out of the Double Visions parking lot in the wrong direction and that surveillance video from a nearby Wawa shows the car driving without lights. A witness told police that Mitchell was operating the car without headlights, and police say that when they arrived on the scene, the engine was still running and the headlights were off.

Charges were originally announced on January 14th, and Mitchell turned himself today. Mitchell is currently incarcerated at Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 bail.

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