Local man dies in three-car accident
Family fishing trips to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland lay among the warmest memories that Stanley Wolfe has of his brother-in-law Samuel Welling. “We would catch anything that was biting that day,” said Wolfe. “It didn’t matter if the one was catching and the other one wasn’t. We didn’t care. It was a great time. It was family time.”
A fiery Friday night automobile accident claimed the life of Welling, 43, of Markleysburg, while also leading to two felony charges against 43-year-old Miles C. Miller of Fairchance.
Welling was pronounced dead a 7:04 p.m., nearly an hour and a half after the 6:10 p.m. accident, in Uniontown Hospital Friday from blunt force trauma with multiple head, neck and chest injuries, said Fayette County Coroner Phillip Reilly.
“Resuscitation efforts were used,” said Reilly. “We even had blood awaiting his arrival at the hospital for a blood transfusion.”
Reilly said that blood samples were taken from Welling, with the alcohol test showing negative. Although an autopsy was not required, Reilly said an inquest into the details of the accident will be held in approximately 90 days, a time period allowed for family to recover from the tragedy.
According to state police in Uniontown, Miles C. Miller faces an array of charges including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and hit and run.
Police said Miller was driving at a high rate of speed while traveling toward Uniontown on Route 40 near the Farmington-Ohiopyle Road in Wharton Township. Police claim he lost control of his 1995 Dodge truck, causing it to cross into the eastbound lane and strike Welling’s vehicle.
Instantly after Miller’s truck and Welling’s Bronco collided, a 1992 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by 19-year-old Gary L. Fike of Farmington, struck Welling’s vehicle from behind.
After this double-sided impact, Welling’s Bronco caught fire and had to be extinguished by Farmington Volunteer Fire Department.
Welling’s 1986 Ford Bronco II suffered severe front-end damage. Welling was wearing his seatbelt and, according to Wolfe, was on his way home after placing a call to his wife announcing his arrival soon.
During the time of the vehicle fire, Miller allegedly fled on foot and soon after possibly obtained a ride from an unknown person to the B.P. Service Station in Flatrock, state police said. At the service station, an ambulance picked Miller up and transported him to Uniontown Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Fike was also treated for minor injuries at Uniontown Hospital.
Hopwood and Markleysburg fire departments, along with Farmington assisted at the scene.
Remembered as the light of community life and the center of tight-knit family, Welling has touched the lives of everyone who knew him.
“You would be hard pressed to find anybody in this area and in the area of Uniontown that doesn’t know him,” said Wolfe. “He was a brother to me and my family. We didn’t consider him a brother-in-law. He was very generous and giving and worked 110 percent with everything he did.”
According to Welling’s brother-in-law, Welling’s mountain home has been full with people expressing their sympathies and lending support in the family’s time of need.
“There has been such an overwhelming sympathy from the community and church,” said Wolfe. “People that worked with him and under him have come from daylight to dark. It is totally amazing at the number of people whose lives he has touched.”
Samuel W. Welling was born July 16, 1959, in Uniontown, the son of the late Elmer Welling, Jr. and Edith Frazee Welling of Lake Lynn.
He taught Sunday school at Union Chapel Church where he was also a member, along with being employed as a case worker for the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.
His wife Cheryl Wolfe Welling and 19-year-old son Samuel W. Welling, Jr., survive him.
Friends will be received in the Crawford Funeral Home in Farmington today from 7 to 9 p.m. and Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Additional visitation will be in Union Chapel Church Tuesday, March 11 from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m., which is the hour of church service where Pastor David Herring and Rev. Ricardo Alicastro will officiate.