Trooper facing DUI charge dies in head-on crash driving on the wrong side of the road, leaves 23-year-old severely injured

Trooper dies in head-on Schuylkill crash
By Peter Mucha
Philadelphia Inquirer
Jun. 16, 2010

The media is reporting this criminal drunk is a hero.An off-duty state trooper facing a DUI charge died in an overnight crash when he drove the wrong way onto the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Cpl. John Quigg Jr., 48, of Glenside - a veteran crash investigator - was accused of drunken driving after a minor accident in December in Upper Merion.

Quigg, apparently on restrictive duty, was scheduled to be in Montgomery County's Court of Common Pleas this morning for a pretrial conference, according to court records.

Shortly after 1 a.m., his Honda Accord took a Spring Garden Street ramp into oncoming eastbound traffic and collided almost head-on with a Mercury Marquis, state police said.

Severely injured was the Marquis' driver, Chantelle Harper, 23, of Philadelphia. She was being treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said Trooper Danea Durham, a state police spokeswoman.

Harper was wearing a seatbelt, Quigg was not, police said.

Quigg was pronounced dead at Hahnemann University Hospital.

The accident closed the eastbound expressway for more than four hours in the area.

As part of the Belmont Barracks for years, Quigg had investigated many crashes that closed the Schuylkill.

After the December incident, Quigg was found with a nearly empty bottle of vodka as he slumped over the steering wheel of his Honda Accord, according to court documents.

In February, Quigg's attorney, Timothy Woodward Sr., said Quigg's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was 0.30, nearly four times the legal limit.