Trial ordered for Pa. state trooper in fatal crash

UNION CITY, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania state trooper has been ordered to stand trial on charges of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide while DUI in an off-duty crash that killed another motorist in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The Erie Times-News says the charges against 35-year-old Jeffrey Dalessandro of Canonsburg were bound over during a preliminary hearing Monday in Union City, about 20 miles southeast of Erie.

Authorities allege that Dalessandro was drunk when his pickup crossed into oncoming traffic on Route 6 in Union Township on Feb. 8 and hit a sport utility vehicle, killing 21-year-old Daryl Nunemaker.

Dalessandro, who has been suspended without pay, is also charged with involuntary manslaughter. Officials say he has been a trooper for nine years and worked out of Troop B in Pittsburgh.