Family mourns Carmichaels man killed in accidental shooting
CARMICHAELS – Five-year-old Harold Vernon Milliken III says his daddy is an angel in heaven, watching over his baby cousin who died several months ago. Joy Milliken said her oldest son is trying to deal with the death of his 23-year-old father, Harold Vernon Milliken Jr., who was killed Wednesday when he was shot during what state police are describing as a “freak accident.” The couple has two other children, Sean Michael, 3, and Layla Lynn, 1.
“My oldest son was with us at the hospital when his father died. My son told me that he wanted to see his daddy,” said Joy Milliken as she fought back tears Saturday.
“My son is a very intelligent little boy, and we always let him make his own choices,” she added.
“I decided to let him see his daddy after he died to give him one last chance to say goodbye to him. I’m so proud of my son, because he is stronger than the rest of the family right now.”
Joy Milliken explained to her son that his dad, who was lying lifeless on the hospital bed, had died and was in heaven with God. The little boy then told his mother that his father was “an angel in heaven, and my Daddy is taking care of the baby who died.” Milliken explained that her brother, Bobby Eicher of Uniontown, had a baby who died recently.
State police, who are continuing to investigate the Carmichaels man’s death, are awaiting ballistic tests and autopsy results.
“We have no results at this time,” said trooper Robert Cree of the Waynesburg station. “It’s up to the medical examiner in Monongalia County, W.Va., to perform the autopsy, because the victim was flown to the Morgantown hospital, where he died.”
Cree said police are treating it as an “accidental shooting,” but the focus of the investigation could change as the ballistic tests and autopsy results become available.
Milliken, a 1998 graduate of Uniontown Area High School, his brother, Michael, and his best friend apparently were sighting rifles in preparation for deer season at the Carmichaels Sportsman’s Club when the accident occurred. Police and family members refused to release the name of Milliken’s best friend and the best friend’s 3-year-old son.
“From what we heard, the little boy apparently tripped over a table, the rifle fell off the table and it went off,” said Harold Vernon Milliken Sr., the victim’s father. “The gun was owned by my other son, Michael. It was a brand new 7mm Remington rifle.”
Milliken said the bullet struck his son between the hip and the stomach, apparently slicing through a main artery.
Milliken and his wife, Patricia, were at home when the accident occurred. The couple received a telephone call from a 911 operator.
“They asked her if we had a son named Harold, and my wife thought he had been in a car accident,” he said. “Then they said he had been shot. My wife started yelling and screaming. We saw the ambulances and paramedics flying down the street in front of our house. We ran back into the house, turned the police scanner on and found out more about the accident. Then, we heard the helicopter coming.”
Joy Milliken, who works as a nurse’s aid at Pratt’s Personal Care Home in Carmichaels, was changing some patients and putting them to bed around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when she received the emergency call. When she picked up the phone, her sister-in-law, Holly Milliken, told her that she needed her to come from work immediately because something terrible had happened.
“I was terrified because I thought something happened to one of my children,” Joy Milliken said. “I was having panic and anxiety attacks.”
Holly Milliken arrived at Pratt’s Personal Care Home about five minutes later with the horrifying news.
“I got into the car, and Holly told me that my husband, Vernon, had been shot, and he had been taken by Life Flight helicopter to a hospital. I was in a state of shock.”
Joy Milliken said she has no idea when she will be able to return to work.
Her husband, who was not employed, took care of the couple’s three children while she worked.
“I don’t know how long it will take before I can go back to work, but I imagine it will be a long time,” she said. “I’m worried about how I’m going to provide for the kids when I can’t work. We also have to pay for the funeral. My kids are going to have a terrible Christmas this year.”
Milliken, formerly of Thompson No. 2, was born Dec. 4, 1978, in Pittsburgh. He is also survived by his paternal grandparents, Harold F. and Gladys Milliken of Edgewater, Fla., and several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
Friends will be received in the Yoskovich Funeral Home, 300 S. Vine St. (Route 88), Carmichaels, from 7 to 9 p.m. today. Funeral services will be held at the home at 2 p.m. Monday. The Rev. Carol Atwood will officiate. Burial will follow at Acklin Cemetery, Luzerne Township.