Driver in fatal 2022 East China Township crash gets jail time

Joshua Collier, 34, was ordered to serve between seven and 15 years in prison for driving a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. He was also sentenced to 39 months to five years in prison for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing injury, to be served concurrently. Collier was given credit for having already served two years.

A jury found Collier guilty after a trial in August, ruling that he did not meet the requirements to be declared legally insane despite his diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Collier admitted to police that he was high on nitrous oxide before running a stop sign at the intersection of Wadhams and Puttygut roads and hitting the victims’ vehicle. According to the National Institute of Health, nitrous oxide is known to cause dizziness, disassociation, disorientation, loss of balance, weakness in the legs and impaired cognition.