A State College Area High School teacher and varsity baseball head coach was charged on Thursday with driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash in late May.
David R. Williams, 45, of Pine Grove Mills, had a blood alcohol content of 0.179% when he was tested shortly after crashing his vehicle into a garage on the 6800 block of West Whitehall Road on May 31, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Ferguson Township police.
“Due to privacy considerations and our commitment to treating all employees fairly, we are unable to comment on specific details regarding this personnel matter,” State College Area School District spokesman Nabil Mark wrote in an email to StateCollege.com. “We respect the privacy of all individuals involved and will continue to address this situation through proper internal channels. I can assure you that we handle all personnel issues with appropriate care and confidentiality.
“In any case, we take all such matters seriously and the safety and security of our entire school community is always at the forefront of everything we do.”
A 2017 Lincoln MKX had sustained heavy damage with airbag deployment and Williams was swaying back and forth as he stood outside the vehicle when an officer arrived on scene around 12:15 a.m., according to the affidavit.
Williams said he had been drinking at Bill Pickles Tap Room in downtown State College, and the officer observed that he had bloodshot eyes and emanated an odor of alcoholic beverage, according to the affidavit. He agreed to a field sobriety test and performed unsatisfactorily, police wrote.
He was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for a blood draw, and the sample was sent to the state police lab to determine his blood alcohol content.
Williams was charged via summons on Thursday with two misdemeanor counts of DUI for blood alcohol above .16 and general impairment, as well as three summary traffic offenses.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Williams is a business education teacher and has been the Little Lions varsity baseball coach for the past three seasons.
