Police: Man was driving drunk when he killed himself and 12-year-old grandson in crash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man was driving drunk when he killed himself and his 12-year-old grandson in a crash in Butler County last year, according to a police report detailing the crash.
David Faulx and his grandson, Zane Rupert, were killed when the Jeep Faulx was driving rolled over and hit a tractor-trailer in Winfield Township in October 2023.
According to documents obtained by the Butler Eagle, Faulx had a blood alcohol content of .246, which is more than three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania. In a report, a trooper wrote that the crash was a result of "Faulx being intoxicated and incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle."
The boy and his grandfather were pronounced dead at the scene. Officials took a blood sample from Faulx at the scene of the crash, the Butler Eagle reported.
In a post on Facebook, the boy's father, Josh Rupert, reportedly said Faulx's decision to drive drunk was "negligent, selfish and irresponsible."
"I now have to go the rest of my life without him," Rupert said in the post, obtained by the newspaper. "I don't get to watch him grow up. I don't get to watch him graduate. I don't get to watch him get married and have a family of his own."
"At the end of the day, it's a choice that you make, getting behind the wheel of a car when you're drunk," he added in the post. "It's not an accident. It's not a mistake."
Rupert attended Knoch Middle School and played football for the Saxonburg Spartans.