Police: Chesco crash victim extremely intoxicated
The driver of a vehicle that crashed and flipped into a Chester County pond this month, drowning him and his brother, had a blood-alcohol level nearly five times the legal definition of drunken driving, police said Tuesday.
The driver of a vehicle that crashed and flipped into a Chester County pond this month, drowning him and his brother, had a blood-alcohol level nearly five times the legal definition of drunken driving, police said Tuesday.
Thomas L. McAleer, 52, of Berwyn, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.398 percent. He also tested positive for the active ingredient in marijuana, police said.
His brother Michael, 54, also killed in the rush-hour crash on Oct. 2, was a father of three.
Sgt. Todd Bereda, Tredyffrin Township police spokesman, said he had seen levels higher than Thomas McAleer's - but not by much.
"That is an extremely high BAC," he said.
A blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent is the legal definition of drunken driving. Any level above 0.3 percent is potentially lethal, according to the National Institutes of Health. "Substantial impairment in vehicle control" begins around 0.15 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 10,000 people were killed in crashes involving drunken drivers in 2013, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
On a rainy afternoon, Thomas McAleer lost control of the 2000 Mercury Sable he was driving north on Glenn Avenue near Lancaster Avenue in Tredyffrin.
Shortly after 4:30, the car hit a curb, a sign, and a stone wall before flipping onto its roof in a small body of water next to the road, witnesses told police.
The men were pronounced dead at Paoli Hospital. Both drowned, the Chester County Coroner's Office said.
In 1993, Thomas McAleer was accepted into Chester County's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program after being charged with drunken driving, according to court records. The program is available to first-time offenders who the court decides should be treated and rehabilitated instead of punished.
McAleer pleaded guilty in 2005 to driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent or higher.
The McAleer brothers are survived by their mother, two sisters, and a nephew, in addition to Michael McAleer's children.
610-313-8207@MichaelleBond