Published: November 10, 2009 10:24 pm      

Man pleads guilty in crash that killed friend

EBENSBURG — A Somerset County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to drunken driving and involuntary manslaughter for a traffic accident that claimed the life of a friend a year ago.

Paul Matthew Endler, 24, of the 200 block of Glessner Road, Conemaugh Township, will be sentenced Dec. 21 by Judge Gerard Long. Endler faces up to seven years in prison, including a mandatory 90 days on the DUI offense because he had a prior drunken driving violation several years ago.

The victim was 52-year-old Jeffrey W. Graffius of Conemaugh Township.

The accident happened shortly after 10:30 p.m. Nov. 11, 2008, on Fulmer Road in Conemaugh Township, Cambria County.

The men were best friends, District Attorney Patrick Kiniry said, “and because of the compassion of Mr. Graffius’ family, I agreed to a plea agreement.”

Endler was driving a 1988 Nissan owned by Graffius, who was pronounced dead at 11:19 p.m. at Memorial Medical Center. Endler was injured.

A state police reconstructionist determined that Endler was traveling 76 mph in a 35-mph zone when he lost control and the vehicle skidded toward the center of the road. Endler started to apply the brakes, but the vehicle went off the road and hit a tree at 46 mph, Kiniry said.

Endler’s blood-alcohol level was 0.22 percent, nearly three times the 0.08 percent defined as legal intoxication in Pennsylvania.

Christy Nardeccia, the widow, wrote in a letter given to the judge, “Jeff was a good friend with Paul and his family for many years, and I have no doubt that he feels the effects of his bad decisions daily. Although we too are feeling the effects of Jeff’s absence, we are hoping that the court will have mercy on Paul and that he will be given a second chance.”

Attorney Terry Graffius, one of the victim’s brothers, also said in a letter that the family, knowing the closeness of the two men, has no objection to some type of intermediate punishment, including extensive rehabilitation, rather than incarceration.

The men “were really good personal friends and golfing buddies who spent a lot of time together playing golf and socializing afterwards,” the brother said.

Defense attorney Robert Davis Gleason of Johnstown said, “We have a very tragic situation.

“Paul and Jeff were very close friends, which compounds (Endler’s) remorse and regret over the accident.”