Drunken driver faces prison for killing of police officer
In this Feb. 24, 2015, photo, Ligonier Township Police Lt. Eric Eslary poses for a photo with his K-9 partner, Blek, in Ligonier.
In this photo, Clair Fink III, right, is escorted past media personnel after waiving his preliminary hearing at the office of District Justice Mark Bilik in Bradenville.
GREENSBURG – A man will spend at least 12 years in prison on third-degree murder, drunken driving and other charges for a wrong-way crash that killed a Western Pennsylvania police officer.
Clair Fink III was sentenced Tuesday by a Westmoreland County judge.
The 33-year-old Ligonier man pleaded guilty in September in the head-on crash that killed Ligonier Township Police Lt. Eric Eslary in May 2015. The crash left Eslary’s police dog injured.
Prosecutors say Fink and a co-worker spent the night drinking before the crash on Route 30.
Fink has apologized to Eslary’s family. His widow is raising six children who survive in their blended family.
Fink’s sentence is 12 to 30 years in prison. The third-degree murder charge, the most serious Fink faces, carried up to 40 years in prison.