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Teenager sentenced for aggravated assault by vehicle

LOCK HAVEN– Spencer Michael Page, 19, of Mill Hall, was sentenced to serve up to 2 years in jail at the Clinton County Correctional Facility for Aggravated Assault by Vehicle, a felony of the third degree.

Page had entered guilty pleas to Aggravated Assault by Vehicle and Recklessly Endangering Another Person relating to a head-on collision that resulted in life-threatening injuries to an oncoming motorist, Daniel Burfield of Beech Creek. Also injured in the accident was a passenger in Page’s vehicle, Chance Foltz.

Judge Michael F. Salisbury imposed the sentence of 9 months to 24 months, less one day, in front of an audience that included Burfield and a large contingent of his family.

In the early daylight hours of June 5, 2017, Page was traveling southbound on SR 150 in Beech Creek Township. Witnesses reported that the roadway was covered by a dense fog, which Foltz described as being so thick that he couldn’t see past the hood of the vehicle as Page drove that morning. Despite the weather conditions, Page attempted to pass a vehicle in front of him and collided head-on with the vehicle driven by Burfield.

Clinton County District Attorney Dave Strouse said that Page’s decision to try to pass a vehicle with almost zero visibility that morning was “irrational” and “completely without reason,” while asking the Court to impose the highest penalty permitted by the Pennsylvania Sentencing Guidelines.

Page provided the court with a prepared statement. Page took full responsibility for his actions that caused the crash in this case, saying that he “wish(ed) that he could take it all back and would give anything to trade places with the victim and take his pain away.”

Page’s Public Defender, David Lindsay, described the case as a “split second decision that will affect the lives of so many people from that moment forward.”

As he imposed sentence, Judge Salisbury commented that “the most troubling thing about this case is that the entire ordeal could have been avoided.” Salisbury added, “Hopefully this sentence will have some positive impact on public safety. All you needed to do was exercise some patience and not act recklessly. Instead you put so many lives in danger.”

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