An Oakmont man told police that he was so distraught after striking a flagger with his car in a construction zone in Highland Park that he downed two shots of Fireball to calm his nerves, authorities said.
Pittsburgh police charged Brett Liberto, 29, with aggravated assault while driving drunk, drunken driving, reckless driving and other traffic violations in connection with the crash Wednesday night at Washington and Allegheny River boulevards.
Liberto told police he was driving about 45 mph on Washington Boulevard toward Allegheny River Boulevard and could not change lanes in time before hitting Darrell Cambell.
Cambell was working as a flagger for Supreme Traffic Control.
Cambell was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and was at home Friday recovering from his injuries, according to Supreme Traffic Control owner Floyd Edwards.
“So far, so good. He’s still just mentally shook up,” Edwards said.
Liberto said he was “frantic” after crashing into Cambell and an illuminated directional arrow, police said. He remained at the scene and called a friend, who allegedly advised him to have a drink to calm down, authorities said. Liberto told police he had two shots of Fireball and threw the containers over the hillside.
He failed field sobriety tests, and a breath test revealed his blood-alcohol level was 0.203% — more than double the legal limit of 0.08%, police said.
This is the third time this year that Supreme Traffic Control employees have been hurt on the job, Edwards said.
“These motorists are just getting more ‘brave,’ not paying attention,” he said. “It’s getting real dangerous out there.”
