Charges updated in Royall case
CRANBERRY TWP — A Cranberry woman accused of speeding away from her boyfriend's home on Friday as he clung to her vehicle has been arraigned on three homicide charges.
Jessica A. Royall, 28, faces charges of criminal homicide, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, recklessly endangering another person, and several summary traffic offenses.
Royall was arraigned on the homicide charges Tuesday morning before District Judge David Kovach in Cranberry Township, via video from Butler County Prison.
Kovach also modified Royall's bail from $50,000 to no bail. In Pennsylvania homicide is a nonbailable offense.
Royall was charged by Cranberry Township police after investigators say she sped along residential streets in the township for about a half-mile on Friday afternoon, with her boyfriend, Ryan Minett, 27, clinging to the luggage rack of her SUV.
Minett fell off the vehicle along Cross Creek Drive at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to court documents. He traveled about 53 feet before colliding with a light post and was taken in critical condition to UPMC Presbyterian, where he later died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head, torso and extremities, according to The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office. The office ruled Minett's death a homicide on Sunday.
