FRANKLIN TWP — A township man was more than double the state's legal limit for alcohol when he crashed a vehicle that he had taken without the owner's permission, leaving a passenger hospitalized with serious injuries, authorities said.

State police obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday for Michael J. Hilliard, 38, of Franklin Township in connection with the early morning wreck April 13 on West Old Route 422 in Franklin Township.

Hilliard is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, both felonies. He also is charged with DUI and five traffic violations.

Police said they were called to the crash around 3 a.m. and found the defendant and one of his passengers, Bett McCandless-Meadows, 44, of Slippery Rock, badly injured and lying in a field.

Medics were tending to the two men, who apparently had been thrown out of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer that Hilliard was driving. The vehicle also ended up in the field.

A second passenger, a 46-year-old Butler man who was not ejected, was walking around the crash scene. He escaped with only minor injuries, police said.

Troopers described smelling a “strong odor” of alcohol coming from Hilliard. A medical helicopter flew him to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with serious injuries.

McCandless-Meadows was flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh and admitted to the intensive care unit.

According to a police report, Hilliard lost control of the sport utility vehicle, struck a mailbox and traveled into a ditch. The vehicle flipped over multiple times and hit a tree.

During the investigation, police learned the defendant had taken the vehicle from its owner without authorization, according to documents.

In an April 22 interview at his home, he allegedly admitted that he took the SUV because he could not get a ride home.

Investigators obtained search warrants on June 10 for the defendant's toxicology report and for McCandless-Meadows' injury report from the Pittsburgh hospitals.

Hilliard's blood-alcohol level was 0.196 percent. In Pennsylvania, a level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated.

Medical records showed that McCandless-Meadows had undergone “multiple extensive surgeries,” documents said, for injuries due to the crash.

Hilliard could not be reached for comment. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney.