Police accuse man ordered to leave Greensburg bar of stealing car, crashing at end of chase

A man told to leave a downtown Greensburg bar early Saturday because he appeared intoxicated was arrested later on charges of stealing another customer’s car, leading police on a 4-mile pursuit and attempting to fight officers, according to court documents.

Darrell D. Carr, 29, of Pitcairn was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing and eluding police, making terroristic threats, possession of marijuana, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and theft of a motor vehicle filed by city police. Carr also was charged with numerous traffic violations, including driving on a DUI suspended license and failing to obey traffic control devices.

Patrolman Frank Tempo reported police were dispatched to The Rialto on West Otterman Street just before 2:30 a.m. for a report of a 2017 Ford Fusion reported to have been stolen by a man who earlier was ordered to leave the bar because he appeared to be intoxicated. The suspect later was identified as Carr.

As police were taking the theft report from a woman, Tempo said police received another call the stolen vehicle was “driving in the wrong lane … east in the westbound lane of Pittsburgh Street” in the city.

State troopers encountered Carr as he entered Route 30, continuing to drive west in the eastbound lanes in Hempfield and nearly causing at least one crash before exiting the highway on to Hempfield Boulevard near Sam’s Club.

Tempo alleges Carr refused to pull over, eventually driving on to a dead-end dirt road, where “he crashed into a large mound of rocks” and damaging he car.

“Once taken into custody, Carr continued to be belligerent with police, authorities say. He threatened to kill all of the officers involved,” Tempo wrote in court documents.

“Upon arrival at city hall, Carr attempted to punch me in the head,” Tempo reported.

Tempo reported that tests showed that Carr’s blood-alcohol content was 0.16 percent, or double the legal threshold for driving under of influence of alcohol in Pennsylvania.

According to online court dockets, Carr’s driver’s license is suspended in connection with an April 2018 arrest alleging DUI by Pitcairn police. Court records indicated he served six months probation after his 2018 arrest for fleeing Pitcairn police and driving on a suspended license Jan. 19, 2019.

Court dockets indicate that Carr was released from the Westmoreland County Prison on Monday after posting $2,500 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled March 18.