The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Allentown man charged in DUI crash on Rte. 222
An Allentown man had a blood-alcohol level more than than three times the legal limit when the SUV he was driving collided headon with another vehicle on Route 222 in Maidencreek Township, severely injuring the other driver, Northern Berks Regional police said in a criminal complaint.
Breilys Suarez-Fernandez, 39, was charged last week with driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses. He was free on $35,000 bail after arraignment Friday before District Judge Brian K. Strand in Reading Central Court. According to police: On Sept. 25 about 9:30 p.m., police responded to a head-on crash at Route 222 in the area of Schaeffer Road. Suarez-Fernandez was standing outside a compact SUV that was involved in the crash. The other driver was trapped inside a pickup truck. Blandon Fire Company firefighters freed Onyx Dube, age and hometown unavailable, whose left arm had been pinned between the driver’s side door and the driver’s seat.
While speaking with Suarez-Fernandez,
Northern Berks Officer Angel Toro noticed his eyes were glassy, his speech was slurred and his breath smelled of alcohol.
A motorist who was behind Dube’s northbound pickup truck said he saw the southbound SUV driven by Suarez-Fernandez veer into the opposite lane and collide head-on with the truck.
A niece of Suarez-Fernandez called 9-1-1 while police were on the scene. She said that moments earlier he had left a convenience store along Route 222 in Richmond Township and was intoxicated. She wanted to know if her uncle was involved in the crash. She explained that they stopped at a store and when she went inside, her uncle was in the passenger seat. When she returned, the car was gone.
Security camera footage confirmed that Suarez-Fernandez switched seats and drove out of the parking lot, nearly striking another car as he backed out of the parking space.
Both drivers were taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital for treatment. Dube suffered a broken left elbow, broken left ankle, an orbital skull fracture, a fractured sternum and a bruised lung as well as compression fractures in the low back.
It was unclear what injuries Suarez-Fernandez suffered. A blood test indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.278%, which is more than three times the legal threshold of 0.08%.