Boyfriend charged with involuntary manslaughter in Indiana County
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A Johnstown man was in a Maryland jail Thursday on charges that he illegally gave his girlfriend a dose of methadone, causing her to die in an Indiana County hospital hours before she was set to be released, according to authorities.
Aaron Sandak, 36, now faces charges of drug delivery resulting in death, criminal use of a communication facility, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person.
Indiana County coroner Michael Baker said 29-year-old Megan Prugh was found dead in her bed in the Indiana Regional Medical Center while doctors were working on her discharge paperwork on Aug. 26. Ms. Prugh had been in the hospital seeking treatment for an undisclosed condition.
Mr. Baker examined blood samples taken from Ms. Prugh in the days leading up to her death.
"Results of the toxicology testing revealed that all of Prugh's hospital medications were appropriately administered by IRMC personnel throughout her admission, but that a sample taken at the autopsy indicated the completely unexpected presence of methadone, a drug used to help opiate-dependent persons manage their addiction," the coroner said. He added that methadone was not on the list of drugs prescribed by the hospital.
State police, without going into detail, said they later determined that Mr. Sandak delivered the fatal dose of methadone to Ms. Prugh.
The methadone, when combined with her previous medical condition, caused Ms. Prugh's death, the coroner said. He ruled the death an accident.
State police in Indiana worked with their counterparts at other state police units and with police in Maryland and Virginia to track Mr. Sandak to Ocean City, Md., where police arrested him Thursday. State police said Mr. Sandak waived his extradition and was expected to return to Indiana County for arraignment within the next 10 days.
First Published February 10, 2012 12:29 am
