Police: Trooper Had To Use Taser To Subdue Truck Driver On I-70
BELLE VERNON (KDKA) -- What looked like a routine traffic stop on Interstate 70 ended with a trooper having to use his taser on a truck driver.
The Speers Bridge is a hotbed for drivers that want to speed on I-70, so there is frequently a State Police presence waiting to stop drivers breaking the 45 miles per hour speed limit.
"The trooper was running speed enforcement here on Interstate 70 by the Speers Bridge," said Trooper Robert Broadwater of the Pennsylvania State Police.
That trooper clocked a closer sedan and tractor-trailer farther behind breaking the speed limit early Tuesday evening, according to investigators.
"As he pulls out into the right lane, in his rearview mirror, the commercial vehicle that he also clocked on his radar, began driving in an erratic manner behind him," added Trooper Broadwater. "When they were coming across the Speers Bridge, the truck actually got close to the patrol vehicle in a tailgating manner."
At that point, a trooper in an unmarked vehicle decided to pull over the tractor-trailer. The trooper pulled onto the shoulder to let the truck pass him, but the truck didn't pass him. It came to a complete stop, but not on the shoulder.
"He was blocking the exit ramp to I-70 to come down to the lower Belle Vernon 906, and partially the right travel lane of I-70," said Broadwater.
According to state police, Dale Hollobaugh didn't realize that the SUV he stopped near wasn't your average car.
"He didn't know who was in that vehicle until the trooper got out," Broadwater added.
This did not calm the driver down, the trooper then asked him to get off the interstate and come to the front of the SUV.
"He wanted to come to the front of the vehicle, he tried to escort the individual to the front of the vehicle and the gentleman did not comply with his orders," said Broadwater. "Still flaring his arms, he actually swatted at the trooper when the trooper was trying to assist him the front of the vehicle and that led to a taser deployment."
Hollobaugh faces charges including risking a catastrophe and resisting arrest.
He is free on a $25,000 bond.