Police: O'Neill blamed crash on deer

Many area residents gave thanks last week that they had no connection to the embattled O'Neill clan, which made headlines once again.

Although blood-tests results are not expected for weeks, police said today that they filed charges last week against Sean O. O'Neill Jr. because of substantial evidence that he had abused alcohol again; in 2006, he fatally shot a friend and fellow Cardinal O'Hara classmate at an underage drinking party.

The complaint said O'Neill, who exuded a strong alcohol odor, told police that he had one beer and that a deer ran in front of his vehicle. He said he could not put weight on his leg for an extended period of time because he had broken it and had been carrying a medical boot in the car to assist him with walking, the complaint said. O'Neill put the boot on but still failed a series of field sobriety tests, the complaint said.

First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Carmody said Sean O'Neill should not waste time seeking admittance into the county's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a regimen for first-time, non-violent offenders. "He wouldn't be accepted," Carmody said. He explained that prosecutors can look at juvenile records in assessing a person's suitability for the program, which enables participants to erase their conviction if they complete the requirements. "He has a prior manslaughter conviction related to alcohol," Carmody said. "Plus, the current case is borderline; he ran into a house. We've denied people before for that reason alone... It's very fortunate that no one was hurt."