The former state trooper arrested for DUI while on the job in Mount Jewett in 2022 has had two more run-ins with the law.
Austin J. Burney, 30, of Cooksburg is “no longer employed by Pennsylvania State Police,” a spokesman said Wednesday. He would not confirm whether Burney had resigned or was terminated, or when it took place.
Since his Nov. 27, 2022, DUI while on the job from the Lewis Run barracks, Burney had a second DUI in July and a hit-and-run crash in Ridgway on Sunday.
The Lewis Run barracks was Burney’s first assignment out of the academy, graduating in August 2022. On Nov. 27, 2022, Burney had shown up to work intoxicated, and responded to a state police call, driving a state police vehicle under the influence of alcohol, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case. He failed field sobriety tests. A breath test and a blood test showed intoxication as well, the complaint stated.
In May, he was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in McKean County Court. He did not lose his driver’s license, according to the online docket.
While still in the ARD program, Burney was charged by Marienville-based state police with DUI for an incident in Barnett Township, Jefferson County, on July 22. The charges include DUI second offense, DUI highest rate of alcohol second offense, and accidents involving damage to an unattended vehicle or property.
Despite the second incident taking place during the ARD term, the state attorney general’s office, which was prosecuting, did not revoke the ARD, but instead extended the term of supervision.
Clarion attorney Mark Aaron is representing Burney in both criminal cases.
On Dec. 3, according to Ridgway-based state police, at 8:01 a.m., a full-size pickup truck driven by Burney was traveling north on Montmorenci Road when it failed to negotiate a straight stretch, and struck a guiderail head-on, causing disabling damage. Burney fled the scene before state police arrived, the report stated.
The truck was towed from the scene. Ridgway Fire Department assisted at the scene.
Police said Burney was not injured.
There was no indication that charges were or would be filed. The investigating officer, Trooper Lindholm, was unavailable for comment. The Harrisburg spokesman for state police said only that he didn’t find a record of charges having been filed.
