Police: Driver who crashed into Center Township jewlery store suspected of DUI
The man who crashed his pickup truck through the roof of a Center Township jewelry store Monday night is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, state police said Wednesday, May 23.
Phillip B. Mennor II, 41, of Butler, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital after his Toyota Tacoma landed upside down inside the Golden Dreams Jewelers’ store at 1615 North Main Street Extension.
According to police, Mennor was traveling on Sunset Drive around 8:47 p.m. when he drove into the oncoming lane. Police said his truck hit a mailbox at 226 Sunset Drive before traveling back across both lanes of traffic and off the road.
Police said the truck went airborne, struck the roof of a shed and then the roof of Golden Dreams Jewelers before coming to final rest. The truck landed upside down.
Crews from Unionville Volunteer Fire Department extricated Mennor, and he was taken by an ambulance to a landing zone at the Clearview Mall and flown via Life Flight to Allegheny General Hospital for unspecified injuries.
According to police, Mennor was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash and showed signs of alcohol impairment.
Mennor was cited for failing to drive on the right side of the road, police said. Officials said other charges are pending the result of blood tests.
Officials said the truck broke a gas line inside the Golden Dreams Jewelers’ building, taking out the bathrooms and break room. The building owners, Shirley and Don Chilcott, said they planned to move their operations to their neighboring building and reopen Saturday morning.
