A UPMC doctor was drunk and driving more than 120 mph before a one-car crash in Pine earlier this year killed his passenger, a fellow doctor, according to charges filed Wednesday.

Dr. Joseph Yanta, 38, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle in connection with the July 16 death of Dr. Douglas Rockacy.

UPMC officials confirmed that both men worked for the health care system at the time.

Police said Dr. Yanta attended a golf outing with Rockacy and others during the day on July 15 followed by dinner and drinks at Cenci’s Pizzeria on Perry Highway. Security cameras caught the group leaving around 12:35 a.m., at which point Dr. Yanta and Rackacy got into a Tesla driven by Dr. Yanta.

Police and paramedics responded to Wexford Bayne Road about 10 minutes later.

According to the criminal complaint against Dr. Yanta, the Tesla was overturned in a small creek and Rockacy had been ejected. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dr. Yanta was alert and conscious after the crash, police said, and told officers at the scene he’d been driving. Testing showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.172%, according to the complaint. The legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania is 0.08%.

Investigators said camera footage from inside the pizzeria showed Dr. Yanta had six drinks over the course of roughly 2½ hours.

A later analysis of the Tesla’s computer system showed Rockacy was not wearing a seatbelt. The Tesla reached 128 mph and was going about 125 mph immediately before the crash, according to the complaint. Police noted the speed limit on that section of Wexford Bayne Road is 35 mph.

In addition to manslaughter and homicide by vehicle, Dr. Yanta is charged with driving under the influence and several moving violations. Court records did not list an attorney late Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman for UPMC said Dr. Yanta is not seeing patients and has no clinical duties assigned to him right now.

First Published: November 2, 2022, 10:13 p.m.
Updated: November 3, 2022, 2:35 p.m.