Man charged in crash into house
Washington police have filed charges against a Canton Township man accused of crashing his pickup truck into a house on Locust Avenue early Saturday and fleeing.
Justin Michael McCullough, 24, of 60 Oakwood Ave., was charged Wednesday with leaving the scene of a crash and reckless driving.
Police said McCullough drove his pickup truck over the curb outside the home of Sam and Emily Papa, 205 Locust Ave., just before 2 a.m. The truck then crashed through a fence and rammed the front porch, causing significant damage.
Video surveillance at the home captured the crash, as well as the driver and an unknown passenger getting out of the truck, surveying the damage, getting back in the truck and fleeing north on Locust.
Officers on the daylight shift located the truck on Evergreen Drive in South Strabane Township later that morning. Police impounded the truck. McCullough reportedly came to the station later and gave a statement, admitting he was the driver.
Sam Papa, who went to Washington Hospital for treatment of minor injuries received when he walked through debris at the crash scene, said he expects to receive damage estimates later in the week.
“The insurance adjuster was not able to give us an estimate because of the intricacy of the woodwork,” Papa said. “The decking also has to be ripped out to determine if there is damage to the foundation.
“We are very lucky he did not hit the two witnesses who were walking by,” he added. “And thankfully this happened in the middle of the night, because my daughters play there in the yard.”
Papa was touched by the kindness of someone who anonymously left a note along with a $100 Home Depot gift card to help with repair costs. Papa said the donor indicated they walk past the house on their way to Mass every Sunday and admire the care the couple have put into the upkeep of the home.
This is not the first time McCullough has faced charges stemming from a crash in the city. Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests on blood that was drawn from McCullough after he crashed into several cars July 18 near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and West Chestnut Street.
A preliminary hearing on the charges filed in Saturday’s crash will be held later at District Judge Robert Redlinger’s office.