DUI charges after fatal wreck this morning
June 15, 2007

A driver died early today after being struck from behind by a DUI / DWI driver, state police said today in Portsmouth.

A collision occurred around 2:15 a.m. on Interstate 264 near the Greenwood Avenue exit. Jason Cooper was driving west in a 2000 Ford Expedition when he was hit by a speeding 2002 Nissan Maxima and propelled into a guardrail. State police spokesman Sgt. D.S. Carr said Cooper, 48, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from his car and died at the scene.

Carr said that Tucker R. Havel, 26, of Suffolk has been charged with DUI.

According to state police DUI reports, Havel struck the Expedition from behind and caused it to slam into a guardrail. The Expedition spun around and struck the guardrail again as Cooper was ejected. Carr said Havel continued up the road about a quarter-mile before he hit a guardrail at the Greenwood exit.

Carr said Havel's car caught fire, but witnesses arrived at the scene and helped him out of the car. Havel was not injured.



A DUI Hit-And-Run Sends 1 To Hospital

June 15, 2007


One man was badly hurt in what state police said was a DUI hit-and-run on the outbound side of the Parkway East, MONROEVILLE, Pa.

A state trooper found Mitchell J. Cassata lying in the right lane at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, approximately one mile before the Monroeville exit.

Cassata, 29, of Pittsburgh, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. Doctors performed surgery on him early Friday morning.

Witnesses told police that a light-colored pickup truck had struck the man and left the area. A Penn Township police officer pulled over a truck matching the witness description on Sandy Creek Road in Harrison City, Westmoreland County.

The DUI driver was arrested and charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and accidents involving death or personal injury. He was held at the County Jail.