FRANK SANFILIPPO
Alcohol played a role in a wrong-way crash where a motorist struck a Red Cross blood products truck head-on Dec. 19, 2016 on Interstate 81 in Harford Twp.
Frank Sanfilippo, 49, of New Milford, has been charged in Clifford District Court with DUI; accident involving death or injury; driving while BAC .02 or greater while license suspended; driving wrong way; careless driving; and reckless driving by Tpr. Christopher Mitchell.
The lab report from Northern Tier Research showed Sanfilippo’s blood alcohol content was .379 percent.
According to the affidavit, a southbound motorist called police just prior to the crash to notify them about a vehicle traveling north in the southbound lane of the highway.
At the scene, police interviewed the driver of the Red Cross truck, Nicholas Garcia, of Rochester, N.Y., who said he attempted to maneuver to the left to avoid the oncoming car but was not able to and was hit head-on on the passenger side by the Chevrolet Cavalier that Sanfilippo was driving.
A passenger in the Red Cross truck, Czierra Santiago, also of Rochester, N.Y., was flown to Geisinger CMC, Scranton, for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash.
Sanfilippo was also flown to Geisinger CMC for treatment of injuries he sustained in the crash. According to the affidavit, he was operating a motor vehicle while his license was suspended for DUI.
Police interviewed members of the Clifford and Harford Volunteer Fire and EMS crews who assisted at the scene. Those interviewed reported that detected an odor of alcoholic beverage on Sanfilippo’s breath and person during the extrication process.
According to the affidavit, those interviewed also indicated that Sanfilippo admitted consuming alcoholic beverages while awaiting his transfer to the hospital.
Police also interviewed the original driver that reported the wrong-way driver. The woman said she was traveling south on I-81 and was planning to get off the highway at the Harford exit. She said she was close to the exit when she witnessed a car traveling down the ramp going the wrong way.
She told police she observed several vehicles that swerved to miss the Cavalier and then saw it hit the truck.
Sanfilippo waived his March 7 preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Suzanne Brainard. He is being held in the Susquehanna County Correctional Facility on $25,000 bail. A trial date in the Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas has not yet been set.
Lock this degenerate up for the rest of his miserable life. He obviously has no ability to control his reckless behavior. Get these habitual drunks off our roads.