Corporal John Quigg Jr., an off-duty Pennsylvania State Police trooper, was killed last Wednesday when he drove the wrong way on the Schuylkill Expressway under the influence of alcohol, according to The Delaware County Daily Times. His car hit another vehicle head-on and John Quigg was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of impact.
In a sad irony, the veteran state cop oversaw DUI checkpoints in the Philadelphia region and specialized in the investigation of fatal crashes in the greater metropolitan Philadelphia area.
But it wasn't such a shocker for Pennsylvania DUI attorney Timothy Woodward, who represented the state trooper after a DUI arrest in December.
John Quigg recently completed a 30-day alcohol treatment program, but Timothy Woodward said that often is not enough:
"I'm not shocked because, unfortunately, the relapse rate for people who have been in inpatient facilities is regrettably high. It's an insidious disease. It never goes away and people must combat it by constantly attending meetings."
Timothy Woodward said he last spoke with John Quigg on June 11 and told reporters he looked like "the picture of health" and was looking forward to moving past his legal troubles. Regrettably, he won't get that chance now.
The vehicle he hit was operated by 23-year-old Chantelle Harper, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported to an unidentified area hospital for treatment. State officials said the case remains under investigation but declined to provide any additional details about the crash.
With respect to the earlier DUI charge, John Quigg was spotted "swerving back and forth between the right and left lanes and traveling in the center of the highway over the lane markers," according to the complaint.
After the fatal crash, police noticed an uncapped 375ml bottle of vodka between his legs. His blood-alcohol content was recorded at 0.27 percent.
Related Resources:
-
Pennsylvania DUI Law (FindLaw)
-
Ultimate Facebook Betrayal? Suspect in Fatal DUI Gets Nailed With Online Pics (FindLaw's Blotter Blog)
-
Contact a Pa DWI Lawyer (FindLaw)
ShareThis
