The 27-year-old has been charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle while driving drunk. Watch video
A 27-year-old New Jersey man who was behind the wheel in a crash that killed three passengers in Bethlehem Township was charged Friday with three counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, township police said.
Terrell Barclay, of Orange, New Jersey, was on fire after he crashed a rented 2015 Chrysler 200 sedan into three parked vehicles at 1:22 a.m. May 6 in the 1800 block of Willow Park Road, police said.
Chief: Driver in crash that killed 3 was DUI
His injuries were severe and he was kept for months in a medically induced coma at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, but as of about 10 days ago he was no longer there, police Inspector Anthony Stevens said.
With a warrant issued by District Judge Patricia Broscius for Barclay's arrest, Stevens said he is beginning the process of finding the wanted man.
Three people -- Amanda Martin, 26, of New Ringgold, Schuylkill County; Ashlee Mosher, 29, of Easton; and Joshua Edwards, 28, of Easton -- died in the crash. Police said they didn't know the trio were in the car until after the township fire department put out the intense flames sparked by the crash.
A Freemansburg police officer estimated the car was going 100 mph moments before the wreck.
Barclay is also charged with four counts of DUI -- general, highest rate, controlled substance drug and alcohol combination and Schedule 1, according to court records. His blood-alcohol level was 0.19 -- penalties begin for most drivers at 0.08 -- and he had the marijuana intoxicant THC in his blood, police sad. Marijuana was found on him as police helped him remove his burned clothes, police said. He is charged with possession, court papers say.
His driver's license was suspended in New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- the latter due to DUI, police said, leading to four more related charges.
A stolen gun found near the car was sold to Barclay, police said. He was charged with prohibited possession of a firearm.
Freemansburg police officer Jeff Farneski reported the car drove north past him on Freemansburg Avenue in the borough "at a significant high rate of speed and driving erratic," township police said. Farneski turned on his emergency lights and began to follow that car, police said.
When the officer reached the crest of the road near the borough baseball fields, he saw the Chrysler turn onto Willow Park Road, police said. When the officer reached the crash scene, the car and a pickup truck were burning, police said.
Township police officer Mark Demetrovic arrived soon after and found Farneski trying to aid a screaming Barclay, who was rolling on the ground and under the red Chevrolet truck, police said.
Demetrovic tried to get close enough to the Chrysler to check if anyone was inside but it was engulfed in flames and he couldn't see inside, police said.
The officers tried to help Barclay get his burned clothes off, but he was "uncooperative and combative and kept attempting to get up and leave the area," police said. A plastic bag containing marijuana was found on Barclay at that time, police said.
A .40-caliber Taurus Millennium, model PT140, was found near where Barclay left the car, police said. Based on the serial number, the gun was eventually traced to an April 20 theft in Plainfield Township, police said. Jacob Csilinko, who was charged with stealing the weapon, reported he sold the gun to Barclay -- aka "Russ" -- for $100 in Room 273 at the Scottish Inn in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, police said. The people in the car were later traced to the hotel, where drugs and cellphones were seized, police said.
Once the flames were out, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek declared the three victims dead as a result of the crash, police said.
Stevens said Barclay was at a Good Shepherd rehabilitation hospital when "good information" indicates the suspect signed himself out.
While it's been four months since the wreck, township police were working with several agencies in the investigation -- including state police (who did an accident reconstruction), the coroner's office and medical facilities, Stevens said. The final bits of information were not available until the past few days, Stevens said.
Asked if some charges could have been filed earlier -- it was announced in late June that Barclay was drunk at the time of the crash -- Stevens said, "We were waiting for the investigation to be complete."
Barclay was out of the hospital by that point, Stevens said. Since Barclay wasn't charged with a crime, the hospital did nothing wrong in allowing him to leave, Stevens said.
"There was no obligation," Stevens said. "We had no charges. The investigation wasn't complete."
If anyone knows where Barclay is, they're asked to call Inspector Stevens at 610-814-6473.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.