Man charged with stealing SUV that plowed into Uniontown house
Crossland
Ed Riedmann
Ed Riedmann This SUV crashed through a fence and yard before striking a home at 25 Prospect St. at about 12:30 a.m. May 4. Driver Richard Crossland was charged Saturday with stealing the GMC Envoy.
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
This house at 25 Prospect St. in Uniontown was significantly damaged after a driver went airborne over an embankment at about 12:30 a.m. May 4.
The driver who crashed into a Uniontown home with children sleeping inside May 4 is now facing charges for allegedly stealing the SUV he wrecked.
Driver Richard Andrew Crossland, 56, of Uniontown reportedly stole the GMC Envoy Denali from 137 Bernard St. in North Union Township at about 12:40 a.m.
Diana Vines, the fiancee of the SUV owner, immediately reported the car stolen to state police after hearing the vehicle accelerating near her bedroom window.
While state police were interviewing her, they received a call from Uniontown City Police, saying they were trying to apprehend the driver of the SUV, which was speeding near Lincoln Street. Crossland reportedly went airborne on a steep embankment at the intersection with Prospect Street and landed in the rear of 25 Prospect St., tearing apart the rear of the home.
He was extricated from the SUV and flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.
A family of five, with two young children, escaped the home uninjured. The house was deemed uninhabitable. The Envoy was destroyed in the wreck.
Vines told state police she did not know how Crossland obtained keys to the SUV, and said he did not have permission to drive it. Crossland claimed during a phone interview with police from the hospital that Vines told him he could drive it to Duke’s Bar, according to court paperwork.
The vehicle owner, John Holup, told state police Crossland never had permission to drive the Envoy. He said Crossland knew an extra key was in the glove box after seeing it when Holup gave him a ride, but Vines did not know about the spare key, court paperwork said.
State police said Crossland does not have a permanent address and stays at various residences, according to court documents.
He is charged with one felony count of theft.
Crossland was arraigned Sunday night before on-call Magisterial District Judge Richard Kasunic II, who set bail at $25,000 unsecured, meaning Crossland did not have to post money for release.