Man Guilty In Roadside Death After Rampage Gets Up To 12 Years

WEST CHESTER, PA — A man who was refused alcohol at an Exton bar in 2019 left and perpetrated a string of harassment and property destruction before he drove his car with one flat tire down Route 30 until the tire blew; he then struck and killed a man working on the roadside.

In Chester County District Court last week, Charles Gorman, 30, of Coatesville, was sentenced to 5½ to 12 years in prison for homicide by vehicle while DUI and related charges after killing a 47-year-old victim while driving drunk on Route 30 in October 2019. Two other victims were injured in the accident, the Chester County District Attorney's Office reported.

The district attorney's report describes a string of drunken incidents that followed Gorman's being flagged at a Chester County bar.

After an Exton bar refused to serve any more alcohol to the inebriated defendant on Oct. 23, 2019, he drove to a Planet Fitness in Downingtown and got into a verbal altercation with a patron in the parking lot, the D.A.'s report said. Gorman tore the side mirrors off the patron’s car before getting back into his car and driving to a Turkey Hill store in Caln Township. There, he verbally harassed two employees outside the store. Gorman then brandished a chisel tool, chasing one of the employees across Route 340, the report said.

He then fled in his vehicle despite one of the rear tires being flat and drove west on Route 30. Near the Reeceville Road exit, the Gorman's tire blew out, and he lost control of his car, the D.A. reported.

The car hit another vehicle, causing it to spin out of control and strike the victim who was standing on the side of the road. The victim had set up flares on the road’s shoulder while fixing his work van’s tire. The victim died at the scene.

The two persons in the first car that was struck were taken to Paoli Hospital’s Trauma Center, according to official reports.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said, “The defendant made three deliberate and tragic decisions to drive while drunk on October 23, 2019, that altered the victim’s family and friends’ lives forever. I am sure that the pain of their senseless loss is indescribable. My heart goes out to them.”

The Downingtown Police Department, Caln Township Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police all responded to the incident.

Assistant District Attorneys Dan Hollander and Jessica Acito were the prosecutors.

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