Montoursville man heads to trial in Union County attempted homicide case

Caleb Daniels, a 21-year-old Montoursville man, is moving toward trial in Union County after prosecutors said he intentionally ran over a woman in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Kelly Township last July. The case now stands as one of the county’s most serious pending criminal matters, with jurors set to weigh allegations of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery tied to a violent encounter in a place many Union County residents know well.

The alleged attack happened on July 10, 2025, at about 7:45 to 7:46 a.m. at the McDonald’s on West Branch Highway in the 7000 block, near Lewisburg. State police said Daniels was there with two women when the confrontation escalated after one of them ended a relationship with him. Investigators said Daniels deliberately backed over the woman, causing severe injuries.

Emergency crews took the woman first to WellSpan Evangelical Hospital, and she was later airlifted to Geisinger Medical Center. Troopers said Daniels fled the scene and was arrested shortly afterward. Early charging documents also listed reckless endangerment, simple assault, harassment and furnishing liquor to minors, showing how quickly the case expanded beyond a single assault allegation into a broader felony prosecution.

Daniels was initially held in Union County Prison on $400,000 cash bail. By the time of the April 14 court update, he had been free on $50,000 cash bail after posting through a professional surety. Union County Judge Michael Piecuch granted a continuance earlier in the year, and a later report said no new court date had been set at that point.

Now the case is ready to move before a jury. Jury selection was scheduled for April 27 and 28 at the Union County Courthouse, where prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to present competing accounts of what happened in the restaurant parking lot and whether the evidence supports the state’s claim that Daniels acted with intent. For Union County, the next phase brings the case out of pretrial scheduling and into open court, where the severity of the allegations will be tested in front of jurors.