A suspected drunken driver admitted that he rammed a state police cruiser during a chase in and out of Butler that left a trooper injured, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing Monday.

Nicholas A. Massella, 23, of Butler Township allegedly made the admission after the trooper bumped his pickup truck as part of a maneuver intended to safely end the June 2 pursuit.

Massella also claimed he was “not going to die by some (expletive)-bag cop,” state police Cpl. Michael Schmidt testified.

Following the testimony, District Judge William Fullerton ordered the defendant to be held for court on 40 charges, three of which are felonies. Fullerton dismissed another felony.

Massella remains in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.

Trooper Casey Fuller said he was on patrol with Trooper Matthew Stimac around 2 a.m. when he saw a pickup run a stop sign at North Chestnut and West New Castle streets in Butler.

He made a traffic stop on West Brady Street and got out of the cruiser. Massella identified himself as the driver. Fuller said he noticed multiple passengers in the truck.

The trooper said he also smelled “an intoxicating beverage” coming from the vehicle. According to court documents, Massella admitted to drinking alcohol.

Fuller asked the defendant to get out of the truck.

“He said, 'no,'” Fuller testified. He recounted that the suspect “put the truck in drive and fled the stop.”

Massella crossed Main Street and immediately stopped, allowing the passengers to get out. He fled again, Fuller said, leaving some of the doors open.

The defendant drove onto Brady Street and continued on Delwood Road in Butler Township.

“He stopped again,” Fuller said. “I believe it was to shut the doors of the truck.”

He apparently got out long enough to close the doors and then allegedly took off again.

“While on Evans Road,” Fuller said, “I performed a precision immobilization technique, better known as a PIT. I was successful in spinning his vehicle out.”

The maneuver involves an intentional collision by the pursuing police officer with the fleeing vehicle, designed to lift the rear wheels off the road and cause the vehicle to spin out.

Fuller said he pulled his cruiser around to prepare to get out and make contact with the defendant.

“At that point,” he said, “the side of my vehicle was rammed by his truck.”

The pickup allegedly struck the cruiser's driver's side. The impact deployed both front airbags, shattered the driver's window and crushed in the driver's door. The police vehicle was left disabled. The estimated damage was placed at $25,000.

Massella drove away, police said, heading north on Route 8.

Fuller was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital, where an emergency room physician diagnosed him with a hand and wrist sprain.

Two days later, Fuller said, he went to see a hand specialist, who ordered the trooper to undergo an MRI to check for a possible broken thumb and other injuries.

Schmidt, a patrol supervisor, was called to the scene of the disabled cruiser. He spoke to Fuller and Stimac about the incident.

Police eventually found Massella after pinging his cell phone and talking to a third party. He was “passed out behind the wheel of his truck,” Schmidt said of the defendant.

The pickup was in the right lane facing west on Route 528 in Franklin Township.

The suspect was arrested and taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test. Toxicology results are pending.

He was taken to the barracks in Butler Township to be processed on charges.

“During that processing,” Schmidt said, “he voluntarily stated to the troopers that were processing him that his vehicle had been rammed and he was going to keep up with the ramming.”

Massella made another voluntary statement: he was not going to let the police kill him.

Massella's attorney, Richard E. Goldinger, called Stimac to testify. The trooper told Goldinger that he was not injured in the incident.

Fullerton ordered the defendant stand trial on one count of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence. He dismissed a similar count that had been filed in connection with Stimac.

Additionally, Massella was ordered to be held on felony charges of criminal mischief and fleeing or attempting to elude police, two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and six misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment.

He also is facing 29 traffic violations.