Murrysville man with 3 previous DUIs charged in fatal accident on Route 22

A man arrested Tuesday in connection with a fatal Murrysville crash had nine shots of liquor and six beers at a local club before he got behind the wheel, according to court papers.

Darren S. Hamm, 60, of Murrysville is accused of driving through a red light and crashing his truck into a car driven by Michael D. Poholsky, 65, of Salem. The crash happened at 8 p.m. Oct. 7 on Route 22 at the intersection of School Road. Poholsky was killed in the crash.

Hamm is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses.

Multiple witnesses told municipal police Hamm had been driving a red Ford pickup erratically on Route 22 west for several miles before the crash. Those witnesses reported Hamm drove through a red light, slamming into Poholsky’s Chrysler Concorde, which was attempting to make a left turn from School Road onto the highway.

Poholsky died at the scene. His obituary said he recently had retired from Driveway Dumpsters, a business he started after working for Waste Management. Poholsky’s passenger was extricated by firefighters and EMS personnel and taken to a hospital.

Hamm appeared to be intoxicated at the scene, police said.

Authorities say they learned through tips from the public and surveillance video that Hamm had been drinking at a Hempfield club for seven hours prior to the crash. A toxicology report showed his blood alcohol content was 0.183%. The legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania is 0.08%.

A state trooper who reconstructed the crash reported in court papers that Hamm’s pickup was traveling at 43 mph at the time of the collision.

Hamm previously was accused of drunken driving three times — twice in 2012 and once in 2018. In the most recent case, he went through the county’s veterans court program and completed a probationary sentence, according to court records.

Hamm was denied bail during his arraignment Tuesday. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison and did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for July 9.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed this week by Poholsky’s family against Hamm, Club 104 and Fort Allen Volunteer Fire Company & Relief Association, as well as 50 unnamed people who were involved in serving Hamm alcohol, according to the suit.