Police say impatient driver faces list of charges for driving around Freeport's Christmas parade

A man who was Tasered twice after leading police on a high-speed chase in Freeport on Friday evening told investigators he sped off because he didn’t want to wait in traffic for the borough’s Christmas parade to finish.

Zachary Stephen Zecca, 22, of the 100 block of Spohn Road in South Buffalo was charged with misdemeanor counts of fleeing from police, resisting arrest and reckless endangerment. He also was issued traffic citations for careless driving, reckless driving and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

He was being detained in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond to await a preliminary hearing Dec. 12 before district Judge J. Gary DeComo.

Armstrong County Regional Police wrote in a criminal complaint that a corporal working a traffic detail parked his patrol cruiser with its light on in the middle of High Street about 7:30 p.m. to prevent southbound traffic from entering the parade route.

The officer said he heard a vehicle accelerate quickly heading north on High Street with the horn blaring and then saw a blue sedan speeding away, the complaint said.

Police said a 911 dispatcher reported that a blue Ford was seen driving recklessly along Riverside Drive, where it almost struck people attending the parade as it cut across lawns and went around the gazebo.

The cruiser traveled more than 100 mph to catch up to Zecca’s car near the intersection of Ford City Road and Route 128, police said, but he continued driving before pulling over in South Buffalo.

Police said Zecca questioned why he was being stopped and refused several orders to get out of the car.

When he did get out, he was told to put his hands on his head and drop to his knees, but he refused to be handcuffed and began scuffling with the officer, the complaint said.

The officer used a Taser on Zecca but was only able to get one wrist cuffed before he recovered from the shock and started resisting again, the complaint said.

He was Tasered a second time, handcuffed and arrested, police said.

In a posting on Facebook, police Chief Chris Fabec wrote: “As the vehicle was exiting the borough, at no time was the crowd attending the parade in danger. Therefore, that is why we did not issue a warning at that time.”

In a response to questions on social media about whether Zecca was charged with DUI, Fabec responded: “Not DUI, (he) did not want to be inconvenienced with the traffic and did not want to wait for the parade to finish.”