State Trooper Charged With DUI

File this one under he should have known better. How serious is the problem of drinking and driving in Pennsylvania? A state trooper who specializes in investigating DUI crashes has been charged with drunken driving in Montgomery County.

From The Mercury:

NORRISTOWN — A Pennsylvania State Police corporal, well known in law enforcement circles as an accident reconstruction expert, has waived his arraignment on charges he was driving drunk on Route 422 before crashing his Honda Accord while off-duty in December.

John Quigg Jr., 48, of Wyndmoor, waived his formal arraignment in Montgomery County Court and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and a careless driving-related traffic violation in connection with a one-vehicle crash along Route 422 in Upper Merion in December 2009.

By waiving his arraignment, Quigg, who is represented by defense lawyer Timothy Woodward, did not have to appear before a judge for a formal reading of the charges lodged against him. Quigg remains free on bail pending his next court hearing.

"Corporal Quigg was going through a difficult time in his life. He made a decision that he deeply regrets," Woodward said on Thursday.

The state attorney general's office is prosecuting the case.

Woodward indicated he plans to request that Quigg be accepted into an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a special probationary program that allows first-time, non-violent offenders to clear their records after successfully completing a period of probation.

Quigg, according to Woodward, completed a 30-day alcohol rehabilitation program at a Berks facility.

"He's continuing his rehabilitation on an outpatient basis," Woodward added.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.