A Pittsburgh man has been charged with driving under the influence and fleeing from Bridgeville police, stemming from a May 4 chase that ended when his SUV flipped into a house in Collier Township.
Frank Cooper III, 30, also is charged with reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, an accident involving damage and running a red light.
Bridgeville police officer Daine Lower attempted to stop Cooper’s Jeep Grand Cherokee after seeing it strike a light pole at about 2:15 a.m. in the 500 block of Washington Avenue and then continue north on the street, according to court documents.
Instead of stopping, the SUV picked up speed as it continued along Washington, eventually reaching 80 mph as it swerved across both lanes and struck a curb, Lower said in a complaint filed before District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet.
The vehicle made a sharp right turn off the road and flipped over into an occupied house in the 1200 block of Washington Ave., Lower said. When Collier Township emergency responders freed Cooper and another occupant from the SUV, the second occupant admitted to being intoxicated, said he was a passenger in the vehicle and denied being injured, according to court documents.
The other occupant indicated Cooper was driving the SUV. Cooper had an odor of alcohol on his breath and was taken by ambulance to UPMC Mercy for assessment, Lower said.
When Cooper consented to a chemical test of his blood, he said, “I’m not the driver but I’ll give blood,” according to Lower.
Cooper is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
