SOMERSET —
Jeremy Richard Irons took his 4-year-old nephew for a motorcycle ride one day in October last year along a cozy road in Paint Township.
Township police say 40-year-old Irons was drunk when he allowed the boy to ride on the gas tank without a helmet. Irons lost control and crashed the bike on Cottage Lane, seriously injuring the boy, they said.
On Wednesday, using a crutch, Irons hobbled into a Somerset County courtroom to face sentencing for the DUI crash.
President Judge John M. Cascio sentenced Irons to one month to 23 months in the county jail plus two years’ probation after Irons’ earlier guilty plea to DUI and endangering the welfare of a child.
“Mr. Irons, this is a really serious case,” Cascio said. “The fact that a child was hurt and previous DUIs.”
The judge noted it was Irons’ third DUI offense.
Johnstown attorney Russell Heiple noted that Irons is married with a child and is a welder by trade.
Police said the boy was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown after the Oct. 15 crash. The boy was later transported to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh with an injured liver and spleen, a broken leg and broken ribs.
Authorities said the boy is recovering from the injuries.
When police arrived at the scene, the motorcycle was leaning against a guide rail, with the boy on the opposite of the rail.
Irons was found about 20 feet down a hillside from the boy.
Irons admitted to drinking alcohol. He told police at the time that he lost control of the bike driving over leaves on the road as he rounded a curve.
His blood-alcohol content was 0.19 percent, more than twice the 0.08 level defined as intoxication in Pennsylvania, police said.
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