The driver of the propane truck that killed Sandy Peterman, Hannah Davies and Madison Peterman has been charged in their deaths.
George C. Marvel, 50, of Milton, will face three counts of operating a motor vehicle causing the death of another person, and one count of inattentive driving. He was driving a Peterbilt fuel delivery truck north on Route 113 just inside the Milford city limits around noon on April 13 when he went off the roadway and struck Peterman’s car, stopped on the shoulder of the highway.
Peterman, 65, was a Milford resident and the wife of Jack Peterman, Milford’s former representative on the Kent County Levy Court and a two-time candidate for the state House of Representatives. Madison Peterman, 9, was the couple’s granddaughter, and Hannah, 8, of Felton, was a friend of Madison’s.
There was never an official report about why Peterman had pulled over, but that stretch of highway had a clear view of the ruins of the Hampton Inn, which had burned down earlier that morning.
Marvel faces a fine of $1,150 and up to 30 months of jail time for each death, along with a $115 fine for inattentive driving, said Milford Police Department Lt. Edward Huey.
Huey added that any jail time Marvel receives will probably be served concurrently, so he would only serve up to 30 months, instead of being in prison for as long as seven and a half years.
“That’s normal … this was a tragedy all the way around, and everyone recognizes that,” he said.
Huey said it took three months to file charges because police were waiting on reports from the state medical examiner’s office and the attorney general.
“They were waiting for the medical examiner’s office to bring back toxicology reports and for the Attorney General’s office to tell us to go ahead with the charges,” he said. “That process takes a while to complete — this was about the normal time to wait.”
Marvel was arrested and arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 6 on July 6. He was released on a $3,500 bond and had a preliminary hearing at the Kent County Court of Common Pleas on July 10.
