By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Published: Monday, February 27, 2012

A driver trying to flee police injured an officer before hitting a tree and dying Sunday night in the parking lot of a McCandless movie theater, police said.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner`s Office identified the man this morning as Benjamin Bibler, 32, of the North Side. McCandless police and Allegheny County homicide detectives remained on the scene late into the night.

The incident started at J. Clark's restaurant in the 9800 block of McKnight Road. Bibler appeared intoxicated when he left the bar and became confrontational with McCandless police, who were called by workers, County police Sgt. Scott Scherer said.

Bibler got into his car, backed into a police supervisor's vehicle and drove off without his headlights on across McKnight Road, Scherer said. He clipped the front of another officer's car, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision, Scherer said. That officer was hospitalized with minor injuries, Scherer said.

Bibler crashed into a tree just before 7 p.m. and died at the scene, authorities said.

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