A 41-year-old Tyrone area woman who died in a crash on Tuesday was awaiting sentencing in a 2004 shooting death of an Altoona man.
Carol J. Bright of RD 4, Tyrone died at the scene of the crash on Washington Avenue on Tuesday at about 1:15 a.m. Police were called to the scene and found Bright and a male occupant entrapped in a pick-up truck. Bright was pronounced dead at the scene.
A press release from Tyrone Police said it was believed the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed. Chief Joseph Beachem said this morning it did not appear there was a chase involved prior to the crash.
He said the man in the truck was 34-year-old Meryle Stiver III of Garden Alley, Tyrone. Stiver was transported to Altoona Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.
In January, Bright had been charged in the 2004 shooting death of 23-year-old Starsun Walker. She was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Todd F. Kelly in Altoona on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the shooting at an 8th Avenue residence on Sept. 12, 2004.
Police said she gave a taped confession about the incident in November of last year after being advised of her rights. Her statements were made in the presence of her attorney, Ted Krol.
In January, Altoona Deputy Police Chief Mitchell Cooper said Bright had been “a person of interest” in the case since the shooting. He said charges were filed then because the investigation was at the point “where we felt we could prove the charges.”
Bright’s attorney, Ted Krol, told The Daily Herald this morning that Bright had waived her preliminary hearing. He said he had worked with authorities on the case for about a year before the charge was filed. He said there was an understanding that when prosecutors brought charges it would be the less serious offense of involuntary manslaughter versus a murder charge.
He said his client had intended to plead guilty to the charge. He said the case had been listed for trial with the expectation that there would be a plea. Krol said by setting the case up for a trial, it would have allowed time for his client to get her affairs in order since jail time was expected as part of the sentencing.
