After fleeing the scene of a two-car injury crash on Dewey Avenue in his Ford Escort, intoxicated motorist Scott Lee Applegate only got a block away when his vehicle became disabled, city police said.
He fled on foot, but he soon realized he had left an open case of beer in the car, so he decided to go back for it, police said.
However, by this time city Patrolman Dustin Reeder was on the scene, inspecting Applegate's damaged car. The officer had discovered a wallet in the center console that had Applegate's license in it.
The 50-year-old Old Lycoming Township man paid no attention to - or somehow did not see - the cop. He grabbed the case of beer and started running from the scene yet again. Reeder chased after him and detained him.
"He smelled of an alcoholic beverage and his speech was slightly slurred," Reeder wrote in an affidavit describing Applegate's condition at the time of the crash, which occurred about 8 p.m. Jan. 14.
Reeder said Applegate's vehicle and another driven by Bessie Snyder collided in the 1000 block of Dewey Avenue. Snyder, whose address was not available, was taken by ambulance to the Williamsport Regional Medical Center, where she was treated for lower back pain, Reeder said.
Applegate, of 1895 Caldwell Ave., was taken to the county's DUI Center to have his blood drawn. His blood-alcohol content level that night was 0.22, Reeder said. He has been charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, accidents involving death or personal injury, careless driving and related offenses.
He was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing last week before District Judge James G. Carn, but a bench warrant was expected to be issued for his arrest after he failed to show.
The crash occurred two weeks after Old Lycoming Township police had arrested Applegate for drunk driving at Foy and Dewey avenues. He was convicted of the offense and was sentenced in mid-April in that case to three days in prison, a $1,000 fine and 50 hours of community service, according to court records.
