Pa. trooper suspended, charged in drunken fatality

UNION CITY, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania State Police trooper has been suspended without pay and charged with homicide by vehicle while driving drunk for an off-duty crash that killed another motorist in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 35-year-old Jeffrey Dalessandro, of Canonsburg, who was arraigned today by a district judge near Union City. That’s about 20 miles southeast of Erie.

The state police say Dalessandro was drunk when his pickup crossed into oncoming traffic on Route 6 in Union Township and hit an SUV. The other driver, 21-year-old Daryl Nunemaker, was killed in the crash about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Spokesman Mark Zaleski says Dalessandro is a nine-year veteran trooper who works out of Troop B in Pittsburgh.

He’s also charged with drunken driving, involuntary manslaughter and traffic citations.