A Preston County man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after police say he deliberately tried to run over two people with his truck following an argument at a Terra Alta convenience store in April.
According to court records, on April 28, Dana Franklin Loughrie, Jr., 43, of Terra Alta, was in a disagreement with two men at Mountaineer Mart. 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 some words with the men, the criminal complaint states he got back into the truck and quickly accelerated toward one of the men who was able to move out of the way to the back of the truck.
The victim dodged Loughrie a second time when he put the truck in reverse and drove backward, “tires squealing,” toward the man.
With both men on the sidewalk, Loughrie allegedly accelerated rapidly driving straight toward the victims.
While attempting to run out of the way, one of the two men was struck 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 in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $150,000 bond.
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