Freedom Man Faces DUI Charges After Accident in Pine Township

A Dec. 2 preliminary hearing is set for a Freedom man facing DUI and other charges after an early morning accident on Warrendale-Bakerstown Road in Pine Township.

Ralph Richard Ruprecht, 45, was charged after the 2 a.m. accident on Oct. 9 in which his 2004 Chevrolet Venture minivan ran into dump truck in the 200 block of  Warrendale-Bakerstown Road, according to a report from .

Police charged Ruprecht with two misdemeanor counts of DUI, involvement in an accident resulting in damage to the attended vehicle, driving while one’s driver’s license is suspended, careless driving, not immediately notifying police of an accident and driving on the wrong side of the road, police and court documents show.

The hearing will be in the courtroom of Magisterial District Judge William K. Wagner.

Police were dispatched to the area of Warrendale and Graham roads after someone reported a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road, nearly striking another vehicle head-on, police said.

“While checking for the vehicle, I happened upon a line of dump trucks pulled off the eastbound side of Warrendale-Bakerstown Road just west of Franklin Road,” the police report said.

The driver of the lead truck, 49-year-old Anthony McPeak Sr., of Freeport, told police a red minivan that was traveling west in the eastbound lane had just struck his vehicle, said police.

McPeak said the van did not stop and had continued west, according to the police report.

Police located a red minivan partially off the road about a half mile west of the collision location, the report said

“The van had moderate damage to the front left corner, including a broken suspension, flat front tire and significant body damage to the fender, hood and driver’s door,” the police report noted.

“I approached the vehicle and found that the lone occupant was seated in the driver’s seat with the engine running. As I approached the vehicle, the door opened, and the occupant, later identified as Ralph Ruprecht, began to exit the vehicle,” according to the report.

Ruprecht told police he made a wrong turn, the report said.

When asked about the damage to his vehicle, he denied striking anything and repeated that he made a wrong turn, the report continued.

“While speaking with him, I noted that his speech was mumbled and slurred and that he was unsteady on his feet. Due to the circumstances, I took him into custody at that time,” the police report said.

Ruprecht was transported to the NRPD station where he was given a breath test. The results of the two samples were 0.176 and 0.168 blood alcohol content, the report said. The legal limit is .08.

Ruprecht did not have a driver’s license on him, so police used his U.S. passport to identify him, police said.

While verifying his identity through PennDOT, “I determined that he was under DUI-related suspension,” the police report states.

The dump truck’s hood, lower-left front-light assembly and fuel-tank step were damaged, but the truck was driveable, the report said.

“Investigation of the scene indicated that Ruprecht’s vehicle was approximately four feet to the left of the double yellow line when he struck the dump truck,” the police report said.

“There were no skid marks from Ruprecht’s vehicle. There were short skid marks from the dump truck, and they were well within his lane. It also appeared that the truck moved to the right shoulder in an attempt to avoid the collision,” according to the report.

“[Ruprecht] stated that he did not hit the truck but rather that it was in his lane and struck him,” the report stated. “This statement is not supported by evidence at the scene.”

Ruprecht's minivan was towed by