Police: Man Pretends Car Was Stolen After DUI Driver Gets Stuck On Railroad Tracks
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DUQUESNE (KDKA) -- Duquesne Police say a man lied and said his car had been stolen after a drunk driver got the car stuck on railroad tracks.
Duquesne Police say officers were called to Grant Avenue and SR-837 for a report of a car stuck on the railroad tracks.
A witness told police they saw the vehicle come down Grant Avenue and drive onto the railroad tracks after taking too wide of a turn around the bend.
After the car got stuck on the tracks, the witness says the driver jumped out of the vehicle and ran back up Grant Avenue.
Police searched the car and found a photo ID inside with an address on Kennedy Avenue. Around the same time, police received a call from a person on Kennedy Avenue attempting to report the vehicle had been stolen.
When officers went to the home, they spoke to both the owner of the vehicle and the suspected driver whose photo ID they found.
They told police the suspected driver had left the vehicle running while he went inside the store at a local gas station and while he was inside, someone jumped into the car and drove away.
Police checked the video surveillance footage from the gas station and did not see the vehicle or the driver at the store.
When police returned to the home on Kennedy Avenue, they admitted they had made the story up because the driver was drunk and driving without a license. The owner of the vehicle said he reported the car stolen so he could file an insurance claim to pay for the damage to the vehicle.
Police say both were charged via summons with false reports. The driver will face additional vehicle code violations.
