Centre County man pleads guilty to DUI after crashing into Port Matilda Borough Building
A Centre County man who was drunk when he slammed a pickup truck into the Port Matilda Borough Building — which caused more than $220,000 in damage — pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor DUI charge.
Will Bracken, 33, is set to be sentenced to 30 days to six months. It was not immediately clear if the time would be served at the Centre County Correctional Facility, on house arrest or some other combination.
His blood alcohol content was 0.12% when he crashed a 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 into the building shortly after a Borough Council meeting adjourned in March. Pennsylvania’s limit is 0.08%.
The crash caused substantial damage to the building’s foundation; at least one side collapsed. Bracken told investigators he fell asleep before the crash, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Neither Bracken, of Huston Township, nor the handful of borough staff that were in the building were injured.
Repairs were slated to begin Monday, Borough Council President Mark Lively said. They’re scheduled to be completed by the end of July. The cost is covered by the borough’s insurance, Lively said.
Most of the borough’s public meetings since the crash have been hosted at the Port Matilda Fire Company, a setup that’s expected to continue until the repairs are completed. Other meetings and services have been conducted by appointment.
“There’s absolutely no training for this,” borough Mayor Ida Lively said.
The tiny borough even set up a de facto office in the borough secretary’s dining room, Ida Lively said. She thanked residents for their patience.
“This is the sort of thing that never happens,” Mark Lively said. “... It’s not like we could meet at the park.”
A message left with defense lawyer Thomas Dickey was not immediately returned. Bracken is scheduled to be sentenced June 13.
