The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 25, 2009

Judges rule drunken driving law applies to campground road

By Joe Pinchot

PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP — A Mercer area man who argued that he should not have been convicted of drunken driving because he was arrested on a campground road has lost an appeal.

Jeffrey A. Laskowitz, 43, was arrested May 27, 2007, by a Pymatuning Township policeman operating under a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Shenango River Lake and the property around it.

Patrolman Daniel McCluskey saw Laskowitz’s vehicle traveling the wrong way on a one-way road in a campground section of the Shenango Recreation Area. Laskowitz’s blood-alcohol level was 0.158, nearly twice the legal limit.

The campground has a checkpoint at its entrance and entrants are supposed to have permits to enter.

Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson found Laskowitz guilty of drunken driving and driving the wrong way, and sentenced Laskowitz to 48 hours to 6 months in Mercer County Jail, $525 fine and costs.

Laskowitz, represented by William G. McConnell Jr., argued that the campground road was not public, making it out of police jurisdiction for a drunken driving offense.

The drunken driving law specifies that an operator must be on a highway or trafficway, and definitions of both specify that they must be open to the public.

In a ruling filed March 6, a three-judge panel of Superior Court said Laskowitz was driving on a road that was open to the public, and could be accessed only from a public highway, West Lake Road.

“Traffic in certain sections was limited to permit holders and guests, but not so restricted that it was rendered virtually non-public,” the court said.

Employees, campers and guests were entitled to protection from drunken drivers, the court said.

“Otherwise, the campsites in Shenango Recreation Area would essentially constitute a DUI-free zone, which thwarts the statutory intent to protect valid users against serious traffic offenses,” the panel said.

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