State police over the weekend arrested a motorcyclist on DUI and other charges after another motorist complained about him driving erratically late Saturday in Mt. Pleasant Township.
Casey M. Gardner, 33, of Mt. Pleasant, was arraigned before Senior District Judge Roger Eckels and ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post $25,000 bail. He is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving on a suspended license, fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest.
Trooper Donald Ament reported that at 10 p.m. Saturday he was dispatched to the vicinity of Clay Pike and Freeman Falls roads for a report of a motorcyclist driving erratically.
Ament said in court documents that he was in the vicinity and saw Gardner’s silver Harley-Davidson Sportster traveling north on Clay Pike at Ankney Hill Road without any operating tail lights. When the trooper turned on his emergency lights and attempted to pull over Gardner, Ament said Gardner accelerated “at a high rate of speed” and drove on to Saw Mill Road.
The pursuit ended when Gardner’s motorcycle lost control and fell over on a portion of the roadway that was covered with washed out gravel from recent rains, Ament reported.
The criminal complaint alleges Gardner refused to get into the rear of the patrol car when he was placed under arrest and attempted to slip his handcuffs.
According to police, Gardner refused transport to an area hospital to have a forensic blood analysis, was driving under license suspension for a prior driving under the influence conviction, and had an expired license registration and no insurance.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 1.
