From staff reports
An Oil City man faces charges after an April 25 ATV accident in the area of Reservoir and Beech streets on the city’s West End.
According to a criminal complaint, Oil City police noticed two people involved in the accident after being dispatched to the scene. Police spoke with Benjamin James Yashinski, 33, of Oil City, who had been ejected from a Polaris ATV and was laying on his left side when found.
According to the complaint, the defendant answered yes when asked if he had been drinking.
The juvenile, the complaint said, eventually put a helmet on and went with Yashinski, but was unable to fasten the helmet to ensure it fit properly because Yashinski was driving at a high speed and the juvenile had to hold on. The juvenile told police, according to the complaint, that Yashinski “never slowed down or tried to turn the four-wheeler and crashed it” at Beech and Reservoir streets, at which point both Yashinski and the juvenile were ejected from the ATV.
Police obtained a search warrant to take a sample of Yashinski’s blood, which after analysis revealed the defendant had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .271%, the complaint said. Any BAC over .08% when driving any vehicle in Pennsylvania is considered a DUI.
Additionally, Yashinski has been charged with reckless endangerment – a second-degree misdemeanor, as well as DUI highest rate – an ungraded misdemeanor, and several summary traffic offenses.
Charges were filed with District Judge Patrick Lowrey in Franklin.
As of Tuesday, according to online court documents, Yashinski awaits a preliminary hearing.
