State trooper drunk at time of wrong-way fatal crash

By Carl Hessler Jr. Published: Friday, June 18, 2010

PHILADELPHIA — The off-duty Pennsylvania State Police trooper killed Wednesday while
driving the wrong way on the Schuylkill Expressway was intoxicated at the time of the crash,
according to authorities. Cpl. John Quigg Jr. had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 percent —
more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent — at the time of the 1 a.m. two-vehicle
crash, state police accident investigators at the Philadelphia barracks revealed on Thursday.

The crash occurred just eight hours before Quigg, 48, of Wyndmoor, was to appear in
Montgomery County Court for a pretrial hearing on charges of driving under the influence of
alcohol and careless driving-related in connection with a December 2009 one-vehicle crash
along Route 422 in Upper Merion. In a preliminary report issued to state police, the City of
Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office indicated Quigg died of "multiple blunt impact
injuries" suffered in Wednesday's crash. Preliminary drug screenings were negative, but tests
revealed Quigg's elevated blood-alcohol content, according to the report.

Quigg, a trooper for more than 24 years, was widely known in the Philadelphia region because
he oversaw DUI checkpoints in the area and specialized in accident reconstruction while
investigating fatal crashes in Philadelphia and its suburbs. At the time of his death, Quigg was
assigned to administrative duties while awaiting court action on charges he was driving drunk
on Route 422 before crashing his Honda Accord while off-duty on Dec. 17, 2009.

Timothy Woodward, a former detective and prosecutor turned defense lawyer who represented
Quigg in the Montgomery County DUI case, said Quigg recently completed a 30-day inpatient
alcohol rehabilitation program at a Berks County treatment center. "Despite that, in some
instances that is not enough," conceded Woodward, who was not shocked to learn that Quigg
was intoxicated at the time of Wednesday's fatal crash. "I'm not shocked because, unfortunately,
the relapse rate for people who have been in inpatient facilities is regrettably high," Woodward
explained. "It's disappointing. It's regrettable, but it's understandable. It's an insidious disease.
It never goes away and people must combat it by constantly attending meetings," Woodward
said. "This illustrates how insidious a disease that it is."

Woodward, who last talked to Quigg on June 11, said Quigg looked "the picture of health" at
that time and was looking forward to putting his legal troubles behind him and moving forward.
According to state police at Philadelphia, Quigg was operating a 2000 Honda Accord against
the flow of traffic in the eastbound lanes of the Interstate 76 expressway about 1 a.m.
Wednesday when he collided nearly head-on with an eastbound 1994 Mercury Marquis
operated by Chantelle Harper, 23, of Philadelphia. Witnesses told police that shortly before the
crash, Quigg drove from Spring Garden Street onto the Spring Garden exit ramp of eastbound I-
76 and continued west in the eastbound lanes, according to a police report. Quigg, who was not
wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at Hahnemann Hospital. Harper, who was wearing a
seatbelt, was transported to an area hospital for treatment of her injuries.

The crash remains under investigation. "At this time, we have no further comments and ask for
your patience and understanding as we complete the investigation and attend to the needs of
Ms. Harper and her family, as well as Corporal Quigg's family and troopers who worked with
him," state police officials said in a public information release report.

Quigg was expected to be accepted into the county's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition
Program in connection with the Upper Merion DUI incident later this year. The ARD program
is a special probationary program that allows first-time, non-violent offenders to clear their
records after successfully completing a period of probation. Those sentenced to the program
also lose their licenses for a period of time. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office was
prosecuting the case. Woodward said Quigg was "embarrassed and humiliated by the arrest and
was completely remorseful for his actions." Court documents indicate the previous investigation
of Quigg began about 8:50 p.m. Dec. 17 when a Collegeville woman driving west on Route 422
called police to report an erratic driver traveling from I-76 onto Route 422.

The erratic driver, later identified as Quigg, was driving his vehicle well below the posted speed
limit, "swerving back and forth between the right and left lanes, and traveling in the center of
the highway over the lane markers," according to the criminal complaint. Quigg's car slowly
traveled off the highway on to the center median, then rolled down a slight incline where its
front end struck a guide rail, according to the arrest affidavit.
Police at the scene and witnesses to the crash found Quigg unresponsive in the car and they
noticed an uncapped 375 ml bottle of vodka sitting between his legs, according to court papers.
Quigg was transported by ambulance to Phoenixville Hospital where he submitted to a blood
test. Court documents do not indicate what Quigg's blood-alcohol content was in the December
incident.