Police: Drunken driver charged for second time
SUMMIT TWP — A suspected drunken driver was nearly twice the state's legal limit for alcohol with a child in his pickup truck when state police say he crashed head-on with another pickup.
Police on Tuesday arrested Paul W. Butler Jr., 56, of Butler in connection with the June 29 wreck in Summit Township that left him in need of hospital treatment in Pittsburgh.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned him on charges of driving under the influence, child endangerment and three traffic violations. He was placed in Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.
For Butler, it was second alleged DUI crash in two months.
Butler Township police previously charged him with being more than twice the legal limit during a hit-and-run wreck in May.
In the most recent case, state police said the defendant's Nissan Frontier crossed the center line on Mitchell Hill Road about 10:20 a.m. and struck a larger GMC truck traveling in the opposing lane.
The collision sent Butler's truck off the side of the road and, according to court documents, left him unconscious. A bystander was attempting basic first-aid when police got there.
Emergency crews said Butler and his passenger, a 16-year-old girl, and the other driver, a 17-year-old Parker boy, were taken with unknown injuries to Butler Memorial Hospital.
The defendant was later flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian hospital.
Police eventually obtained a search warrant for a blood draw at the hospital. Toxicology results showed Butler's blood-alcohol level was 0.157 percent.
In Pennsylvania, a level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated.
Butler Township police said Butler's blood-alcohol level was 0.183 percent on May 27 when he lost control of a pickup and crashed into a chain-link fence at Butler and South Duffy roads.
Afterward, according to court documents, he called a relative, who picked him up and took him home. He arrived at his house just before police got there.
He is charged in that case, which is pending in Butler County Court, with DUI and hit-and-run.
In one other unrelated case, Butler police accused him of public drunkenness July 11 — less than two weeks after his latest suspected DUI crash.
At Butler's arraignment Tuesday, Stoughton also set conditions on his bail. Upon his release from jail, he would be placed on pretrial supervision and be required to wear a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor unit.
The tamper-resistant device is strapped to an offender's ankle and analyzes the wearer's perspiration to determine whether the person has been drinking.
