{"id":256698,"date":"2026-07-31T21:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/256698\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:37:06","slug":"erie-truck-driver-faces-22-charges-after-police-say-he-fled-9-vehicle-crash-carrying-bud-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/256698\/","title":{"rendered":"Erie truck driver faces 22 charges after police say he fled 9-vehicle crash carrying Bud Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Erie, Pennsylvania, commercial driver faces 22 charges after a July 23 crash involving nine vehicles. According to the affidavit, police identified Irabaruta Ezechiel as the driver of a 2022 Freightliner semi-truck. A court-filed affidavit places the collision at West 12th and Myrtle streets in Erie PA. Judge Alison M. Scarpitti denied bail after Ezechiel\u2019s July 24 arrest.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, the semi traveled east through the 300 block of West 12th Street. Five motorcycles and four station wagons waited at a steady red light, the officer wrote. The document identifies one operator on each motorcycle and nine occupants inside the station wagons. Police claim the Freightliner struck the station wagons before it struck the motorcycles.<\/p>\n

Affidavit describes flight from the truck<\/p>\n

The affidavit states that Ezechiel stumbled from the cab after the collision. It claims he fled while carrying a case of Bud Light bottles. The officer wrote that one open Bud Light bottle remained in the center cup holder. Witnesses chased and subdued Ezechiel behind a nearby U-Haul before police arrived, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

The affidavit states that officers transported Ezechiel to Saint Vincent Hospital after his arrest. The investigating officer noted a \u201cstrong odor of an alcoholic beverage\u201d and bloodshot, watery eyes. A charge nurse later told the officer that Ezechiel needed emergency-room care because he was unconscious. The officer then obtained a nighttime warrant and collected two vials of blood.<\/p>\n

The officer sent the blood kit to Pennsylvania State Police for BAC testing. Lab results remained pending when police filed the complaint. The affidavit does not provide a blood-alcohol result.<\/p>\n

An investigator later visited UPMC Hamot Hospital, according to the affidavit. The filing reports that eight of 10 crash victims went there for treatment. It also lists two suspected serious injuries and six suspected minor injuries. X-rays and CT scans remained pending when the officer completed the document.<\/p>\n

The affidavit first identifies five motorcycle operators and nine station-wagon occupants. It does not explain why the later hospital section refers to 10 victims. The document does not name injured people or provide current medical conditions. It also does not report a death.<\/p>\n

Public docket lists 22 current charges<\/p>\n

The public docket lists two aggravated-assault-by-vehicle-while-DUI charges. It also lists two aggravated-assault-by-vehicle charges. Three separate DUI counts involve commercial-vehicle alcohol use, high-rate alcohol and general impairment. Those charges remain accusations, and no court has entered a verdict.<\/p>\n

The docket includes nine misdemeanor property-damage counts involving attended vehicles or property. It also lists reckless endangerment, open-container, reckless-driving and unsafe-speed charges. <\/p>\n

FreightWaves uses the docket\u2019s current 22-charge total. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 7 in Erie County Central Court. Louis Callahan of the Erie County Public Defender\u2019s Office represents Ezechiel. Callahan declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Fleets need clear impairment policies, incident reporting and evidence-preservation procedures after serious crashes. Those practices protect people and create factual records for investigators, insurers and employers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n Brokerage Compliance Symposium
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The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face – fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps – navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.<\/p>\n

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\n Awards
\n F3 Awards Dinner
\n Oct 26 \u2022 The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo \u2022 Chattanooga, TN\n <\/p>\n

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music – 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.<\/p>\n

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo \u2022 Chattanooga, TN
\n Register Now<\/a><\/p>\n

\n FreightTech
\n F3: Future of Freight Festival
\n Oct 27 \u2013 Oct 28 \u2022 The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo \u2022 Chattanooga, TN\n <\/p>\n

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga – plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.<\/p>\n

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo \u2022 Chattanooga, TN
\n Register Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Erie, Pennsylvania, commercial driver faces 22 charges after a July 23 crash involving nine vehicles. According to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1874,347,136,138,137,17933],"class_list":["post-256698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-accident","tag-crash","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-trucking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}