On November 3rd, 2024, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Calhoun County dispatch received a report that a vehicle had ran off the road and into the creek near the address of 812 Sandridge Road, Millstone, WV. The complainant had stated that the driver was walking away from the crash headed towards the intersection of WV Route 16 and U.S. Route 33/119.
Trooper J.D. Richards of the West Virginia State Police responded and was given a description that the driver was wearing a black hoody with an “O” on the back, heavier set, had a beard, and was approximately 5’8″ to 5’10”. He then advised dispatch to relay this to EMS, who were enroute, so they would know who they were looking for.
On the same date, Trooper Richards arrived in the area of Millstone, where EMS was speaking with the driver and a passenger. Trooper Richards asked who the vehicle that was in the creek up the road belong too. Timothy Lee Tallhammer advised that it was his vehicle.
Trooper Richards advised Tallhammer that a wrecker was on its way to the scene and asked Mr. Tallhammer if he’d like a ride back to the accident scene for which he responded that he would.
The vehicle, a black in color Ford Mustang, was over the embankment in the creek. Trooper Richards had knowledge that this was Mr. Tallhammer’s vehicle and asked him what caused the vehicle to be in the creek and requested to see his drivers license.
Mr. Tallhammer then advised that a gentleman that he was standing with, talking to EMS was the driver. This Trooper made contact with the complainant, who advised he had overheard Mr. Tallhammer speaking with another male stating that he had slid off the road, indicating that Mr. Tallhammer was the actual driver.
On the same date, the Trooper took photographs of the crash and traveled back down the road to speak with the alleged driver, Kenneth Starcher, who advised the Trooper that he was in fact not the driver.
Trooper Richards travelled back to the scene where Mr. Tallhammer was watching his vehicle getting placed on the back of the tow truck by Westfall’s Wrecker Service. The Trooper ran Mr. Tallhammer’s license through WV Troop 4 Dispatch and found that Mr. Tallhammer’s license to operate a motor vehicle was actively revoked for DUI with an effective date of 09/12/2008. It was also discovered that Mr. Tallhammer had been convicted of Driving while revoked for DUI on 09/30/2020, 05/21/2019, and 11/16/2016. Tallhammer was placed into custody on the charge of Driving Revoked for DUI (3rd and subsequent). He was then transported to the WVSP Grantsville Detachment for processing.
On the same date, Trooper Richards conducted a Mirandized interview with Mr. Tallhammer where he admitted to the Trooper that he was the one who was driving his vehicle when it crashed on the same date.
Tallhammer is being held in the West Virginia Central Regional Jail on a $25,000.00 cash only bond. The defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Criminal Code §17B-4-3. Driving while license Revoked for DUI (b) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so has been lawfully revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs, or any combination thereof, or for driving while having an alcoholic concentration in his or her blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, or for refusing to take a secondary chemical test of blood alcohol content, is, for the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor more than six months and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500; for the second offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for a period of not less than six months nor more than one year and shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000; for the third or any subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than three years and, in addition to the mandatory prison sentence, shall be fined not less than $3,000 nor more than $5,000.
