Trucker charged with DUI
A slow-moving, meandering tractor-trailer snarled traffic on the West Shore Bypass during the Sept. 17 evening rush, drawing the attention of a state trooper from Reading.
The trooper eventually stopped the rig in Exeter
Township and found the Canadian driver to be intoxicated, investigators said. A search of his cab revealed an open can of beer on its side spilling its contents in the sleeping area, they said.
According to the criminal complaint:
Trooper Richard Carpenter encountered traffic building up on Route 422 between the Lancaster Avenue and Interstate 176 exits about 6 p.m.
As he moved into the left lane, several other motorists pointed to something ahead.
Carpenter managed to go around the backlog and saw an 18-wheeler going about 45 mph in the right lane. Few motorists were passing it because the rig was swerving over the center line and shoulder line.
Carpenter followed the truck into Cumru Township. As it crossed the Exeter Township line, the rig slowed to 28 mph for no apparent reason.
Carpenter turned on his emergency lights and stopped the truck at Gibraltar Road, just after the expressway’s merge with Business Route 422, or Perkiomen Avenue.
He asked the driver, Mohammad S. Tanoli, 34, of Pickering, Ontario, to step down from the cab. The trooper smelled alcohol on Tanoli’s breath and saw that his eyes were bloodshot.
Tanoli failed a field sobriety test. A breath test revealed his blood-alcohol level was 0.14%, more than three times the legal limit of 0.04% for commercial drivers.
Tanoli remained free to await a hearing following arraignment before District Judge Andrea Book in Reading Central Court.
Tanoli is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving too slow for conditions and having an open container of alcohol in a moving vehicle.