Police Captain Charged With Driving Drunk

By Robert McSherry, Special to The Inquirer
Posted: September 15, 1988

A Lower Merion police captain was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after his car crashed into the rear of another car Tuesday night, Radnor Township police said yesterday.

Capt. John H. Sheehan was charged with drunken driving about 9:35 p.m. Tuesday after the minor accident, which occurred next to Villanova University at the intersection of County Line Road and North Ithan Avenue, police said.

Police said the crash was reported by university security guards. They said Sheehan was sitting in his car, which had unspecified front-end damage, when Radnor police Officer Marty Gurney arrived moments after the accident.

Lower Merion Township officials could not be reached for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether Sheehan was on duty at the time of the crash.

Police said Sheehan told Gurney that he had struck the rear of another car, which had left the scene of the accident. They said Sheehan failed a field sobriety test and was taken to the Radnor Township police station.

At the station, police said, Sheehan was administered a breath-alcohol test, which they said did not register any alcohol level because an insufficient sample had been provided. They said Sheehan had failed to cooperate with the breath test, and later refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test.

Police said Gurney then arrested Sheehan based on the results of the field sobriety test. They said Sheehan, who was released from custody Tuesday night, would receive a mail summons to appear in Radnor District Court on charges of driving while intoxicated and following another vehicle too closely.

Index by Keyword
|
Index by Date
|
About Philly.com
|
Contact Us
|
Terms of Use & Privacy Statement
|
Copyright 2013