June 4 – A Preston County man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after police say he deliberately ran over two people with his truck following an argument at a Terra Alta supermarket in April.
According to court records, Dana Franklin Loughrie, Jr., 43, of Terra Alta, had an altercation with two men at Mountaineer Mart on April 28. The two men left the store on foot, while Loughrie left in his pickup truck.
The two men were on East Washington Avenue when Loughrie allegedly drove down the road, stopped his truck and got out with a baseball bat in his hand.
After exchanging a few words with the men, the complaint states he got back into the truck and quickly accelerated toward one of the men who was able to move out of the back of the truck.
The victim avoided Loughrie a second time when he put the truck in reverse and reversed, “tyres screeching”, towards the man.
While both men stood on the sidewalk, Loughrie reportedly accelerated rapidly and drove straight toward the victims.
While trying to run out of the way, one of the two men was hit by Loughrie’s truck and his leg was run over.
According to police, the incident was captured on two separate video surveillance systems that also recorded audio of the event. The video shows Loughrie’s deliberate attempt to strike the victims with his vehicle.
Loughrie was arraigned in Preston County Magistrate Court and is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $150,000 bond.
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