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Coraopolis police chief facing charges in serious crash

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — Coraopolis Police Chief Alan DeRusso arrived at the district attorney’s office Wednesday to face charges of aggravated assault by motor vehicle, careless and reckless driving and failure to obey traffic signals, Channel 11 News has learned.

According to Moon Township Police, DeRusso was in an unmarked patrol car last August when he went through a red light at the intersection of Route 51 and Thorn Run Road and slammed into a SUV, seriously injuring Kristy Grazier, who was inside the vehicle.

Some witnesses said they saw flashing police light and heard an intermittent siren, but investigators said there were no emergency calls at the time.
An onboard computer calculated DeRusso’s speed at 80 mph, 35 mph over the posted speed limit, investigators said.
Police also examined the police car and found no mechanical problems. 
“It's more than a tragedy. We have two individuals who were seriously hurt in this accident and that’s what it was - an accident,” said defense attorney Steve Townsend.
Townsend claims that DeRusso, who has been on medical leave since the accident, was performing his duties as the chief when it happened, but he would not elaborate.
“Well, you know, the investigators have had this case for four months. I just got the complaint 30 minutes ago, so I really can't get into the details at this time,” said Townsend.

DeRusso declined to comment on the allegations other than to say “I’m very sorry,” when asked if he had anything to say to the victim.

Coraopolis Mayor Anthony Celeste confirmed that DeRusso has been placed on administrative leave.

Celeste said Capt. Ron Denbow is now serving as the acting chief .

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