Accident results in DUI charges
On Sept. 28, Athens Township Police officers were dispatched to the scene of a one vehicle accident in the parking lot of Walmart and advised that the driver may be intoxicated.
An officer inspected the disabled vehicle while the driver, William C. Swackhammer Jr., 48, of Athens, was being attended by emergency medical staff and detected an obvious odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle.
The driver admitted to the officer that he was traveling, "a little too fast," and hit a cement curb. After the accident, Swackhammer told the officer he went inside and bought two boxes of Twinkies and spoke briefly with the manager about his disabled vehicle.
As a result of the accident and the further observations of the officer, Swackhammer was placed under arrest and charged with DUI: highest rate of alcohol, DUI: general impairment and driving a vehicle at a safe speed. He will answer to these charges at a preliminary hearing with Magisterial District Judge Michael Shaw on Nov. 7.