Bucks man faces up to 10 years in prison for DUI crash that killed longtime friend

A Bucks County man pleaded guilty to killing a passenger in his vehicle during a violent February crash that followed a night of heavy drinking, officials said Tuesday.

Keith Warren Crews III, 26, of Hilltown Township, entered the plea late Monday to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses. He was sentenced to four to 10 years in state prison, court records show.

During the proceeding in the Doylestown courtroom of Judge Jeffrey L. Finley, Crews tearfully apologized to the family of Thomas J. McCarthy. McCarthy, 27, died two days after the crash from injuries that included a fractured skull, internal bleeding in his brain, and a lacerated colon.

“My actions on Feb. 9 caused more pain than I’ll ever be able to comprehend,” Crews said, according to prosecutors.

Not long before the crash, Crews and a group of his friends were asked to leave Maxwell’s on Main, a bar in Doylestown. Crews “insisted” on driving home, prosecutors said, despite downing 15 drinks.

Crews apparently lost control of his Volkswagen Jetta as he sped down Callowhill Road, a winding country road in New Britain Township, according to investigators. Data recovered from the vehicle showed he was traveling nearly 90 mph at the time of the crash. The posted speed limit on that section of Callowhill Road is 25 mph.

When officers from the township police department arrived at the scene of the accident, they found the sedan on its side wedged between two trees, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Crews’ arrest.

Crews’ blood alcohol level was measured at 0.207, about 2½ times the legal definition of drunken driving, but investigators say they believe it was closer to 0.24 at the time of the crash.