Speeds hit 100 mph in pursuit of DUI suspect
A suspected drunken driver is accused of leading state police on a weekend pursuit at speeds of up to 100 mph that ended when he spun out in Brady Township, authorities said.
Nick A. Pfab, 31, of Slippery Rock Township is facing 30 charges, including a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude police. He is free on $50,000 bail.
The incident began around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, police said, when Trooper David Wellington tried to stop the defendant for speeding in a 2020 Toyota Tacoma pickup on Route 8 at Muddy Creek Drive in Clay Township.
The trooper activated his emergency lights and siren, but the suspect did not stop, and fled north on Muddy Creek Drive. Pfab allegedly cut off another vehicle, forcing the driver of that vehicle off the road.
Police said he lost control of his truck while making a left turn onto Staff Road in Brady Township, traveling through a road sign and into a homeowner's yard, nearly hitting the house.
Pfab drove back onto the road, police said, and almost struck Wellington's car. The chase, which covered between four-and-a-half and five miles, continued with the defendant allegedly running several stop signs.
According to charging documents, police clocked the truck going 100 mph while on McBride Road in Brady Township. The suspect lost control of the pickup when he attempted to make a right turn onto Duffy Road, causing the truck to spin around.
Wellington eventually had to “pin the front of the (truck) with (the trooper's) push bar preventing (him) from fleeing,” documents said.
Police suspect Pfab was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and they said they found what appeared to be marijuana and a glass smoking pipe in the truck's center console.
He was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test. Toxicology results are pending.
District Judge Dave Kovach arraigned the defendant on the fleeing charge as well as misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs, DUI, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run, and possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Police also cited him for more than a dozen traffic violations, including speeding and driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest.
Pfab's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney.
