Coraopolis police Chief Alan DeRusso was charged Wednesday with various offenses, including felony aggravated assault by motor vehicle, stemming from an August crash in Moon that seriously injured a woman.
During a council meeting Wednesday night, the Coraopolis Borough Council voted unanimously to place Chief DeRusso on administrative leave. The vote followed a closed-door executive session. Borough Solicitor Richard Start said the borough would have no further comment on the matter. The crash occurred Aug. 7 around 8:14 a.m. at Route 51 and Thorn Run Road in Moon.
Citing witness statements, Moon police said Chief DeRusso’s unmarked police vehicle ran a red light and struck a woman’s vehicle, which had a green light as it crossed the intersection.
A police affidavit said the chief was driving 80 mph three seconds before the crash. Investigators wrote that they found no evidence that Chief DeRusso was responding to an emergency.
On the contrary, the chief’s attorney, Steven C. Townsend, said his client was “in the performance of his duties as chief of police” when the accident occurred. He would not provide details.
Mr. Townsend did not concede that the chief was driving as fast as police said he was. Investigators based their information on data recovered from the unmarked car’s black box.
Chief DeRusso and the female driver were seriously hurt. The woman, identified as Kristy Grazier, lost her appendix and 17 inches of her intestine, had a concussion, a chipped vertebrae and had a broken skull bone.
The chief remains off on workers’ compensation and still wears a walking boot.
“I think he’s had six surgeries. He’s probably got a pound of metal in his ankle and foot because of this,” Mr. Townsend said.
Mr. Townsend accompanied his client to the courtroom of District Judge Mary P. Murray in Coraopolis, where Chief DeRusso was arraigned at 1:30 p.m. and released on his own recognizance.
Moon police reconstructed the accident, aided by Allegheny County police.
In addition to aggravated assault, Chief DeRusso is charged with reckless driving, careless driving, violating traffic control signals and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Chief DeRusso, 56, of Moon began working for the borough in 1991. His salary is $80,500.
Since the crash, Capt. Ron Denbow has been running the department.
First Published: January 14, 2015, 6:31 p.m.
Updated: January 15, 2015, 5:28 a.m.
