EVANS CITY — A Mars man has been charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, nearly a month after the elderly man who he hit in a shopping mall parking lot in Adams Township died.

District Judge Wayne Seibel Thursday morning arraigned John George Turcic, 62. Adams Township police also charged Turcic with driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, careless driving and reckless driving.

Turcic, who turned himself in Thursday morning, is free on $15,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing in Butler is Jan. 27.

The charges stem from an accident about 5 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Adams Shoppes off Route 228, just outside of Cranberry Township.

According to court documents, Turcic drank a “fair-sized” glass of vodka before driving to Giant Eagle to refill a prescription.

However, he cut through the parking lot in front of the Andorra restaurant and hit William Kvindis, 80, who was walking with his girlfriend to a hair salon.

Court documents estimate Turcic was driving around 25 mph at the time of the accident. He hit Kvindis, who broke the windshield on impact and fell to the pavement, according to court papers.

Medics took Kvindis by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, where he was placed in intensive care. He died several hours later of severe head injuries.

After the accident, Adams Township Officer Michael Bordt smelled alcohol on Turcic’s breath and soon administered a series of tests to determine his sobriety, according to court documents.

Turcic failed those tests, including a test of balance while standing on one foot.

“He lasted two seconds and almost fell over,” Bordt wrote in court documents.

Turcic claimed that he had looked down to read mail that was on his passenger’s seat, and that he never saw Kvindis until he hit him.

According to police, Turcic didn’t stop when he hit the elderly man but instead circled the parking lot and stopped again in front of Kvindis’ body.

Police took Turcic to a hospital and drew his blood to test for alcohol. Those tests showed his blood alcohol level as .052 percent, which is under the legal limit of .08 percent for drivers to be considered intoxicated in Pennsylvania.

However, Turcic also had taken anti-anxiety medicine earlier in the day that contained side-effects such as dizziness and drowsiness.

Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon said Thursday that he can’t comment on the case other than the fact that Turcic was charged with homicide by vehicle because he was dually under the influence of both alcohol and a controlled substance.

Patrick Livingston, the Pittsburgh attorney hired by Turcic, didn’t respond to a call for comment Thursday.