Man who steals oil tanker charged with drunk driving conviction
A foreign man will spend about three years in prison after he led police on a chase in an oil tanker. The man, a 41-year-old Canadian, will serve a sentence of two and two-thirds years to five and one-third years for the chase, which allegedly involved alcohol and excessive speeds. It is still not clear why the man chose to steal the tanker and steer it through York County, Pennsylvania.
The man was convicted of theft, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and several traffic offenses. He was also convicted on a drunk driving charge. Luckily, the man avoided a longer jail term because jurors rejected charges for aggravated assault. Pennsylvania authorities say that the man hopped into the cab of an idling oil tanker on Nov. 9, 2012 as he was returning to his hotel room from an area watering hole. After the tanker was reported stolen, officers attempted to stop the man. He attempted to flee, running five red lights and reaching speeds of approximately 80 mph. The driver crashed the rig after losing control along Route 30. Officers say he was the only one to suffer injury in the incident. Results of a blood alcohol test indicated that the man’s blood alcohol content was 0.216 percent. That is nearly three times the legal limit for drivers in the state of Pennsylvania. As a condition of his sentence, the man must attend alcohol classes, and he must submit to drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment.
Further, he has been ordered to pay more than $55,000 in restitution to the owner of the damaged rig, and he must compensate the Department of Transportation about $2,800 for a damaged guard rail along Route 30. In this case, the man decided to take his chances with a jury trial instead of seeking a plea bargain with local prosecutors. Trials can be risky in some criminal defense cases. Qualified DWI attorneys can help those who are facing penalties and drunk driving charges learn more about their legal options, which can include plea agreements and a variety of other tools.
