Pittsburgh-area man charged in UTV crash on frozen lake that killed man

A Westmoreland County man was charged in connection with the death of another Westmoreland County man after the two fell through a frozen lake in Maryland while riding a utility terrain vehicle earlier this year. 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources said in a news release on Tuesday that Ricky A. Wise, of Mount Pleasant, is facing a list of charges — including negligent homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence and homicide with a motor vehicle while impaired — after a UTV crash led to the death of David T. Linsenbigler, of Greensburg. 

Maryland authorities said the 59-year-old Wise was driving a Polaris RZR XP 1000 with the 58-year-old Linsenbigler on Deep Creek Lake on Feb. 22 when the vehicle fell through the ice beneath the Glendale Bridge. When first responders arrived, they found Wise had escaped the water, but Linsenbigler was trapped in the submerged wreckage. 

The Greensburg man was rescued and taken to a hospital in West Virginia, where he died a day later, officials said. The Mount Pleasant man was taken to a local hospital and treated for hypothermia, according to the news release, which added that he was released a day later. 

Investigators said, according to the news release, that Wise consumed alcoholic beverages before getting on the UTV on the day of the crash. He allegedly had a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit in Maryland of 0.08 percent. 

Wise was charged by summons and is scheduled to stand trial in Garrett County on Oct. 7, authorities said. If convicted, he faces more than 12 years behind bars and nearly $17,000 in fines. 

The news release said only snowmobiles are allowed on Deep Creek Lake.