Details of Charleroi councilman’s DUI case revealed
VESTABURG – A Charleroi councilman was found by a police officer passed out in the driver’s seat of his sport-utility vehicle while it was stopped on a road last month in the Mon Valley, court records allege.
Centerville Officer John Columbia made an attempt to awaken Larry Michael Celaschi before trying to break the front passenger window of his vehicle by striking it with his baton, according to court records on the incident, which police said occurred about 11 p.m. March 11.
Celaschi awakened to the noise and allowed his vehicle to drift backward on Columbia Road until it struck a marked Centerville police cruiser, state police stated in the affidavit of probable cause.
Celaschi, 58, of 311 Crest Ave., then put his vehicle in drive and traveled about 20 feet before the vehicle went off the road and into a ditch near Front Street in East Bethlehem Township, police said.
The police cruiser sustained minor front-end damage.
Columbia told state police he smelled alcohol on Celaschi and inside the vehicle. He also said Celaschi “displayed an extremely high level of intoxication,” the affidavit alleges.
Celaschi was taken by ambulance to Mon Valley Hospital before state police arrived to investigate the accident involving the local police cruiser.
Troopers later went to the hospital and took note that Celaschi had glassy and bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, police claim in the affidavit.
Celaschi told the troopers he blacked out while driving and asked if anyone was injured due to his actions, the record indicates.
Celaschi was not hurt, police said. He refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test.
The case against Celaschi, who is serving his second term on council, will proceed through the Washington County DUI Court.
Celaschi has declined to comment on his arrest. It was not immediately known if he has hired an attorney to represent him.
He is charged with DUI, improperly stopping on a road, disregarding traffic lanes, failing to wear a seat belt and careless driving.