The late Zane Rupert, 12, with his father, Josh Rupert, of Penn Township.

The father of Zane Rupert, 12, was devastated to learn recently that his son’s grandfather, David Faulx, 65, of Cabot, was intoxicated when he slammed into a tractor-trailer on Winfield Road Oct. 13, killing both Zane and himself.

“It’s definitely heartbreaking first and foremost,” Josh Rupert said Saturday. “The biggest thing for me is finding out that somebody who was supposed to love him unconditionally put him in harm’s way.”

A state police report obtained by Rupert detailed the investigation and findings of state police Trooper Jason Gueck regarding the crash.

Gueck stated in the report a blood sample taken from Faulx at the scene showed his blood alcohol content was .246, or more than three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.

Gueck said he questioned the tractor-trailer’s driver, 29-year-old Hunter Cathcart, at the scene of the crash, which occurred just before 10 p.m.

Cathcart told Gueck he noticed the headlights of the approaching Jeep driven by Faulx tilting when the vehicles neared a bend, and “he knew the Jeep was starting to roll from the headlights.”

He learned from Cathcart that the tractor-trailer also had dashboard camera footage of the crash, which he secured for his investigation.

Between the footage, Cathcart’s testimony and the toxicology report, Gueck was able to come to a tragic conclusion.

“As a result of this investigation, it is concluded that this crash was the result of Faulx being intoxicated and incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle,” Gueck stated in the report.

In a Thursday Facebook post, a frustrated and grieving Rupert used the adjectives “thoughtless, careless, negligent, selfish and irresponsible” in describing Faulx’s decision to drive while drunk with his innocent grandson in the car.

“I now have to go the rest of my life without him,” Rupert said in the post. “I don’t get to watch him grow up. I don’t get to watch him graduate. I don’t get to watch him get married and have a family of his own.”

Zane was a student at Knoch Middle School and a member of the Saxonburg Spartans youth football team.

Rupert said anyone can avoid the devastation he has experienced since his son’s death by choosing not to drive when they consume alcohol.

“At the end of the day, it’s a choice that you make, getting behind the wheel of a car when you’re drunk,” he said. “It’s not an accident. It’s not a mistake.”