JOHNSONBURG — A Ridgway man was charged on Tuesday with injuring two passengers in a violent one-car crash in Ridgway Township late last year.
Justin P. Zappia, 33, of 444 Lookout Ave., is charged with felony counts of aggravated assault; misdemeanor counts of DUI and reckless endangerment; and summary traffic violations in the Dec. 26 crash on Laurel Mill Road (Route 3002), near its intersection with Fairview Hill Road.
An affidavit of probable cause obtained from Magisterial District Judge George A. “Tony” King’s office said the crash left two passengers — identified by police as 20-year-old Taylor Dickant and 27-year-old Todd Asti Jr. — with serious injuries.
Asti is said to have sustained a cut above his right eye, a cracked rib and chipped teeth. Meanwhile, Dickant reportedly suffered bruised lungs, a fractured cheekbone, a bruised carotid artery and concussion. Police said all were transported to area hospitals for medical treatment. Updates on the occupants’ conditions were not immediately available on Tuesday.
En route, Ridgway-based state police said Zappia told troopers that he last remembered leaving Cully’s Bar on West Main Street in Ridgway earlier in the evening. In taking his statement, troopers said they detected a slight odor of alcohol on his breath.
A blood test was ordered and allegedly revealed Zappia’s blood alcohol content as .155 percent, well above the 0.08 percent legal limit.
In speaking with authorities, both Asti and Dickant said they possessed few memories of the crash.
Dickant said the last thing she remembered was “seeing the windshield.”
Asti reportedly told officers that he didn’t know either Zappia or Dickant previously, claiming both he and Zappia had been interested in Dickant after meeting her at the bar earlier that evening.
State police in reconstructing the accident said the trio’s vehicle had been headed west on the roadway at the time of the crash when, for unknown reasons, Zappia lost control. Court documents said he failed to negotiate a left hand turn, causing his 2013 Hyundai Veloster to strike a dirt embankment and sail approximately 43 feet through the air. Police said the vehicle then landed and rolled an additional 42 feet before coming to a rest outside a 7741 Laurel Mill Road home.
The vehicle is said to have suffered major damage in the accident.
Zappia has been summoned to appear in Johnsonburg District Court for a preliminary hearing on the charges, tentatively set for March 25. Those counts include traffic violations for failing to drive the vehicle at a speed safe for conditions and failure to wear a seatbelt.
