Lower Makefield Man Sent To Prison After Crash That Killed Bensalem Man

A Lower Makefield man has been remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility after being charged with homicide by vehicle for a June 2018 accident in Falls Township.

Charles Edward Fisher, 24, who has previous addresses in Bensalem and Middletown, was charged with six felonies, eight misdemeanors, and four summary charges related to a traffic collision that police say resulted in the death of Michael Carlino, 65, of Bensalem.

Carlino had to be extricated from his black 2008 Mercury Mariner on June 2 after it was struck head-on by the silver 2007 Ford Escape that Fisher was driving on Lincoln Highway near 84 Lumber around 8:10 p.m., authorities said.

According to law enforcement, Fisher, who did not own the vehicle he was driving, was traveling southbound on Lincoln Highway, crossed over all four lanes of travel, before striking the Mercury Mariner head-on.

When officers first spoke with the registered owner of the Ford Escape, the Falls Township woman had road rash on the right side of her body and was bleeding from her head. Initially, she indicated to officers that another occupant, besides Fisher, was operating the vehicle, before finally telling officers that it was, in fact, Fisher that had been driving, police said.

According to court documents, Fisher, who suffered injuries to the accident and smelled of alcohol, also told officers that he had not been driving. The third occupant of the Ford Escape told officers that Fisher had told them to lie to police and say he had not been driving because he had been “drinking all day”.

At the time of the accident, Fisher was covered in dirt and complaining that his right foot and hip hurt. Fisher had also sustained a red abrasion to his forehead, which police noted, was possibly from the deployment of the front airbag. When speaking with Fisher at the scene, officers noted a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his person and his eyes were bloodshot and glossy. Officers noted that no field sobriety tests were performed due to Fisher’s injuries to his leg, according to authorities.

Both Fisher and the vehicle’s owner had to be transported to St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown for treatment. The woman submitted to both DNA and legal blood draw, and Fisher volunteered to give DNA samples and refused a legal blood draw.

During police investigation, a search warrant was obtained for Fisher’s medical records, which showed he had a serum alcohol level of 117 mg/dl. A forensic toxicologist calculated Fisher’s blood-alcohol concentration based on the review and issued a report indicating Fisher’s mean BAC was .10.

Further investigation revealed Fisher did not hold a valid driver’s license in any state at the time of the crash, police said.

Fisher was arraigned Monday and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $300,000 bail.

According to county court records, Fisher has a trial scheduled for January on two separate, unrelated simple assault cases, one out of Bensalem and one out of Penndel.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.