BELLEFONTE — The man accused of killing a 29-year-old woman and her unborn child will not be charged for the death of the unborn baby, a local judge ruled yesterday.
Alfred Cantolina, 21, will not face a homicide while DUI charge or a vehicular homicide charge for the death of the couple's unborn baby, who they had named Samuel.
The commonwealth withdrew both of the charges without contest, citing the precedent and almost identical Booth case. In that case, a Westmoreland County man was charged with hitting a woman who was in her eighth month of pregnancy and killing the unborn child. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed the charge.
Deputy Attorney General Janice Martino-Gottshall said because the Booth case was decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the charge would have ultimately been dismissed.
"The Booth case was a very controlling factor in regards to the homicide charges involving the baby," Martino-Gottshall said.
Britt Barndt was eight months pregnant when she was killed while driving with her husband, Gene Barndt. Barndt, the couple's 6-year-old daughter, and a family friend all sustained injuries as a result of the accident.
Although Cantolina does not face the charges that accuse him of killing the unborn child, he still faces an array of serious charges, including three felony counts.
Cantolina is still charged with vehicular homicide and homicide while driving under the influence for the death of Britt Barndt, two counts of aggravated assault while DUI, a DUI charge and other vehicle violations.
Cantolina's attorney, Brian Manchester, asked Judge Charles Brown yesterday in Centre County Court to dismiss the two counts of aggravated assault while DUI and the homicide while DUI. Manchester said the alcohol in this case was not enough to have caused the accident, a prerequisite for both of these charges.
"The alcohol must cause the accident, and according to the preliminary hearing transcript, there's no indication that alcohol caused this accident," Manchester said.
Manchester also asked that the DUI charges be dismissed because of Cantolina's low BAC and because of his age. Cantolina was six months from turning 21 when the accident occurred and was found to have a BAC of .024. An adult who is 21 years or older must have a BAC of .10 to be charged with a DUI.
"If he was 21 years old or older, given his low BAC, he wouldn't have been charged," Manchester said, adding that the law is based on physiological differences that cannot be determined between someone who is six months from turning 21 and someone who is 21.
Martino-Gottshall argued that the decision should be up to a jury and that the accident was the result of more than just a vehicle violation.
"This was not just an error in judgement, it was a gross error in judgement," Martino-Gottshall said.
Martino-Gottshall said she plans to have toxicologists on the stand during the trial to prove the role the alcohol played in the accident.
Brown will decide within three to four weeks whether the homicide while DUI and the two counts of aggravated assault while DUI will stick.
Cantolina's pre-trial conference will be on May 22, and Manchester expects the case to go to trial some time during the summer because of Centre County's case buildup.
