A New Castle man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he was drunk and high on cocaine when he allegedly drove into a group of people at a Slippery Rock Township apartment complex in May.

Joshua Klein, 23, maintained his innocence during a preliminary hearing in Slippery Rock before District Judge William O'Donnell. Klein appeared in a lime-green jumpsuit with the letters “LCC” for Lawrence County's jail stenciled on his back.

State Police Trooper Casey Fuller recounted the night of the incident when he was called out for a large crowd of people fighting and a hit-and-run.

Klein was arrested and arraigned on 15 charges, including four felonies. He was placed in the Butler County Prison in May on $15,000 bail, but later that month, according to court records, was taken to Lawrence County's jail for allegedly breaking his probation in a previous, unrelated case.

On May 18, troopers learned that the crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Stillwater Lane in the parking lot of The Heights of Slippery Rock apartments. Fuller spoke to the victim, who was being treated by first responders for a broken nose, concussion and other injuries. Fuller recalled on Wednesday that the victim was bleeding from his head and face. He was taken to Grove City Medical Center, has since been released, Fuller said, and is available to appear at a trial.

Fuller testified that a blood test from Klein showed a number of intoxicants in his blood, including alcohol, cocaine and amphetamines.

Klein's lawyer Kenneth Harris questioned the witness that Fuller interviewed after the accident. He said he wondered whether one of the witnesses was involved in the reported fight for which Fuller was originally called out to respond. He also questioned the sobriety of the witnesses and concluded that the victim in the case could have received the concussion in the fight.

“There was a brawl, melee, where I'm sure a number of people who were injured left before the police arrived,” Harris said.

Ultimately, Harris said, prosecutors failed to prove that Klein hit anybody.

One charge that Klein is facing is accident involving serious injury. Assistant District Attorney Russ Karl noted that the serious injury charge reflected the victim's concussion.

“Concussion is a serious injury. To scoff at it, it's no joke,” Karl told Harris.

Karl continued, “We have witnesses who say he did it. Damages to the defendant's car shows that he struck many things that day, including a person.”

The judge agreed that there was enough evidence for the case to move forward to common pleas court, where the trial process will begin. Klein's next court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 9. After the hearing, Klein was remanded to Lawrence County Prison.