A Slippery Rock man is accused of his third driving under the influence offense in the past 10 years following a one-vehicle crash last week in northern Butler County.

Travis C. Sanderson, 30, of Slippery Rock is facing a felony count of DUI stemming from the wreck shortly after 5 p.m. May 4 on Stoughton Road in Slippery Rock Township, state police said.

Sanderson was traveling east on the road, about one-quarter mile west of Route 173, police said, when he lost control of his Ford Ranger pickup and struck a utility pole.

The pole was snapped in half, police said, and the truck ended in the middle of a field. Sanderson suffered apparent minor injuries.

Outside the truck, police found a hypodermic needle. Inside the vehicle, police turned up Suboxone on the driver's side floor and methadone in a red tin behind the driver's seat.

A witness told police that “immediately after the crash Sanderson appeared to be ditching something in the bushes across the street,” according to charging documents.

A trooper searched that area and found a hypodermic needle, police said, and a prescription pill bottle with an “unknown clear liquid inside.”

Police later took Sanderson to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood draw. Toxicology results were not available.

In their criminal complaint, police noted this was Sanderson's third DUI within the past 10 years, making the most recent incident a felony under state law.

District Judge Bill O'Donnell arraigned Sanderson on a felony charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

He also is charged with three traffic violations — driving too fast for conditions, failing to keep right and disregarding traffic lanes. He was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.

Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney. His preliminary hearing is set June 24.