Sobriety officer charged with DUI

A Pennsylvania State Police official who supervised sobriety checkpoints on area highways and worked as an expert in crash reconstruction has been charged with drunken driving.

Cpl. John Quigg, 47, of Wyndmoor, has been placed on administrative duty at the Philadelphia Barracks on Belmont Avenue, where he works, pending adjudication of the charges and the results of an internal investigation, state police said.

That means he'll report to work but perform only paperwork, said Trooper Danea Durham, spokeswoman for the barracks.

"He won't be on the road," Durham said.

Quigg could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A police incident report on Dec. 17 shows that Quigg, not on duty, was traveling west at a slow speed on Route 422 in Upper Merion when he lost control of his Honda.

The vehicle came to rest against the guard rail, and officers found Quigg slumped over the wheel at 9:02 p.m., the report says. No other vehicles were involved.

Quigg was evaluated at Phoenixville Medical Center, where a blood sample was taken, the report said.

His blood-alcohol level at the time of the accident could not be determined Thursday because not all the paperwork had been filed at the King of Prussia district court where other charges were lodged, court officials said.

Other charges include careless driving, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and driving with an open alcoholic beverage, police said.

Lt. Myra A. Taylor, spokeswoman for the state police based in Harrisburg, depicted him as "an awesome police officer" who has "done an enormous amount of good work."

"He's a hard charger," Taylor said. "This really, really hurts."

At the time of the incident, Quigg was assigned to the Collision Accident Reconstruction Specialist Unit. The unit reconstructs crashes on major highways and some municipalities in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware Counties, Taylor said.

Using witnesses, the laws of physics and physical evidence, Quigg and his team of experts determine how fast the cars were going and what caused the collision, she said.

Quigg is also expert in recognizing what controlled substance a driver might be on, based on the motorist's behavior, Taylor said.

A preliminary hearing on the charges is set for Feb. 5 in Upper Merion.