Allegheny County homicide detectives say a Perry North man was drunk when he hit two police vehicles, before being fatally injured when he slammed into a tree in the parking lot of a McCandless theater Sunday night.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office says 32-year-old Benjamin Bibler died at the scene in the parking lot of the Rave Cinemas North at 9700 McKnight Road. Bibler was not wearing a seat belt.
According to Allegheny County police Sgt. Scott Sherer, employees at J. Clark's bar across the street from the theater called McCandless police about 7:00 p.m. because they thought Mr. Bibler was too drunk to drive.
"At first, Mr. Bibler seemed compliant when officers arrived but suddenly bolted out the front door and jumped into his car," said Scherer.
Scherer said Bibler backed up, striking a police supervisor's SUV before heading across the street to the movie theater parking lot. At that point, another McCandless police cruiser was approaching from Blazier Drive. "He (Bibler) nailed the cruiser head-on, before losing control, hopping a curb, and slamming into the tree," said Scherer.
The officer involved in the head-on collision was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.
