The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 20, 2009

Vehicular homicide, drugged driving nets woman jail time

By Matt Snyder

FINDLEY TOWNSHIP — The wife of trucker Charles H. Payton Sr., Glen Burnie, Md., testified at the sentencing of Payton’s killer, a Harrisville woman who hit him with her pickup in 2007 while overdosed on prescription medication.

Lou Ellen Payton tearfully told the court Friday that Payton was the love of her life. “I love him every day, I miss him every day.”

She called her husband an average working guy who was just out trying to do his job. On Oct. 15, 2007, he had pulled his tractor-trailer off the eastbound ramp of Interstate 79 at the Interstate 80 junction in Findley Township.

That’s when Heidi May Wise, 33, who had five times the appropriate dosage of the anti-anxiety medication Xanax in her system, hit Payton and sent him flying 100 feet through the air, police said. He died at the scene.

“She should be accountable for the death of my husband,” Mrs. Payton said.

Payton’s son, Richard E. Walters, also testified. “I have a daughter who’s 12 years old. She loved her grandfather very much, and she’ll never see him again.” He urged authorities to make sure Ms. Wise never drives again.

Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Thomas R. Dobson said Ms. Wise will probably lose her license for good because of many prior accidents. He sentenced her to 10 to 23 months in jail with 116 days’ credit for time already served. She will also spend 2 years on probation.

Walters walked out of the courtroom after hearing Ms. Wise’s sentence, but before Dobson had completed his order.

Ms. Wise apologized to Payton’s family, saying she wished she could take back what she did that day. She said she prays for them, and hopes to tell others what happened that day to prevent it from happening again.

Ms. Wise pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to homicide by vehicle, drugged driving, and a lane violation.

Before the accident, Ms. Wise was followed on I-79 by a witness who saw her cross the lines at least 10 times. The witness tried to call 911, but there was no cell phone service.

Ms. Wise told police she had a “fetish” for hitting the rumble strips because of the sound they made and had been hitting them intentionally. There were no rumble strips on the exit ramp, police said.

At the scene, Ms. Wise had glassy eyes, swayed, had her pants unbuttoned, slurred her speech, and seemed sluggish, police said. They said they discovered her 60-pill prescription of Xanax had only 46 pills left, even though it had recently been refilled and should have contained 58 or 59 pills.

Text Only
Local News
  • Couple charged in bank robbery

    A Hubbard man with a Mercer County rap sheet and his girlfriend have been charged with robbing a New Wilmington bank on Jan. 24.

    February 3, 2012

  • eCenter officials eye ways to attract kids to tech careers

    When government officials talk about promoting their municipalities for businesses and entrepreneurs, it’s assumed they are hoping to attract adults.

    February 3, 2012

  • Board to seek tax hike OK from state

    For Sharon City School District officials and many others across Pennsylvania, the headaches and planning for the 2012-13 budget have already begun.

    February 3, 2012

  • Bond payment savings will exceed $1 million

    Back in October, when Hermitage Municipal Authority officials first started talking about refinancing two bond issues, they expected they could save $106,000.

    February 2, 2012

  • Alleged shooter accused of 2nd robbery

    Joshua L. Stewart, the alleged triggerman in the fatal shooting of William “Billy” Basilone Jr., has been charged with robbing the Wild Game Inn in Farrell on Dec. 28.

    February 2, 2012

  • Stealing grandma’s cash sends man to prison

    The stepdaughter of a woman who was allegedly abused and robbed by her grandson choked up as she asked the man why he would do something so heinous to his grandmother.

    February 1, 2012

  • KC grad robbed, beaten; home torched

    A woman with Jamestown roots remains in a Virginia hospital a couple weeks after a brutal attack in her home that police say was a random act of violence.

    February 1, 2012

  • Marin 3rd Democrat to plan Kelly challenge

    A third Democrat says he wants to challenge U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly for his seat, and this one, like the last, has tried for the spot before.

    February 1, 2012

  • Pair jailed in ’08 drug store heist

    Two men were arrested Monday and charged with calling in a bomb threat to West Hill Elementary School in 2008 so they could rob the Medicine Shoppe on East State Street while police were distracted, police said.

    February 1, 2012

  • NFG lowers rates 9.8%

    It’s going to be less painful in the pocketbook to turn up the thermostat as National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. turned down its gas rates 9.8 percent.

    February 1, 2012