Trooper charged in fatal Erie County crash
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An off-duty state trooper was charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence Thursday after police said he crossed into oncoming traffic on an Erie County road, striking a car head-on and killing the driver the previous night.
Trooper Jeffery Dalessandro, 35, who was based in the Pittsburgh barracks in Moon, was also arraigned on charges of driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, careless driving, reckless driving and disregarding a traffic lane for the crash that killed 21-year-old Daryl "DJ" Nunemaker Jr.
The trooper has been suspended without pay.
According to a criminal complaint, state police said Trooper Dalessandro was headed back to a hotel in Edinboro, where he had traveled for a fishing trip. He was driving east on Route 6 in Union City around 10 p.m. in his Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck when he rounded a curve and, "for an unknown reason" drove into the westbound lanes and directly into the path of Mr. Nunemaker. His truck smashed the driver's side of Mr. Nunemaker's car, obliterating the front of the car.
Mr. Nunemaker, who lived and worked in Union City, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Trooper Dalessandro was transported to UPMC Hamot for minor injuries.
Before he left the scene of the accident, a paramedic told police that Trooper Dalessandro said he had "a couple of drinks" and was headed back to his hotel in Edinboro.
He later told a state police corporal that he had four beers, according to the complaint. State police found his blood-alcohol content to be 0.147, nearly twice the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
Trooper Dalessandro, a nine-year veteran, has no criminal record, according to court records. State police declined to say if he had ever been disciplined before, calling it a personnel matter.
In a petition for a protection-from-abuse order filed by his wife, Angela, on Thursday, she said the trooper has long had a drinking problem and has suffered from depression.
"I've been harping on him for years about his drinking. We are constantly arguing about it," she said in her petition. "He is on medication for depression and if he's not taking it he becomes very aggressive and can't control his anger. I don't believe he is capable of making rational decisions right now."
First Published February 10, 2012 12:00 am
