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DUI suspected in city crash

Other driver needs treatment

One person was injured and another was arrested Saturday morning in a suspected drunken driving crash in Butler, city police said.

Richard B. Rearick, 21, of Butler faces several charges stemming from the two-vehicle collision shortly before 4:30 a.m. at North Main and West Penn streets.

But Rearick was nowhere to be found when officers were called to the wreck.

The other driver, James Smith, 57, of Butler, was hurt. He had “troubled breathing and pains to his side,” according to a police report.

He was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment. His condition was not known this morning.

Police said Smith was traveling north on North Main Street and had entered the intersection at Penn Street through a flashing yellow light. Moments later, his Ford Focus was hit by a Honda CRV.

The sport utility vehicle had been eastbound on West Penn Street. Police suspect Rearick had a flashing red light but did not stop.

Officers found the car off the road. The sport utility vehicle was on a sidewalk in the 400 block of North Main Street.

Police traced the SUV’s license to the owner, Rearick’s aunt. They went to the woman’s home about 4:40 a.m. and found Rearick, who also lives there.

He smelled of alcohol and showed signs of being intoxicated, police said. A breath test later showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.15 percent, or nearly double the state’s 0.08 percent legal limit.

Rearick admitted he drank “close to a bottle of wine” before he went driving in his aunt’s vehicle, the police report said.

Police charged him with driving under the influence, causing an accident involving injury and not stopping at a flashing red light.

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