Police say a Philadelphia man was driving under the influence when he crashed his airborne vehicle into a daycare Monday morning in Port Carbon.
There were 22 children and 4 adults inside the Little Sunshines Day Care Center, at the intersection of Route 209 and Wood St., at the time of the crash. They were uninjured.
John Capobianco Jr., 55, of Philadelphia was jailed at Schuylkill County Prison Monday and is being held on $150,000 bail. He’s facing a felony charge of causing a catastrophe, 26 misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, misdemeanor counts of DUI of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also faces numerous summary traffic offenses, including having fictitious inspection stickers.
Capobianco was taken to a nearby hospital after being extricated from the vehicle by first responders.
State Police-Schuylkill Haven say they were dispatched shortly before 8:30 a.m. to a reported vehicle crashed into a building with the driver trapped inside the vehicle. Troopers investigating the crash allege Capobianco – behind the wheel of a 2013 white Nissan Pathfinder – was operating it erratically and at unsafe speeds, forcing other vehicles off the roadway prior to the crash.
The vehicle left the roadway at a high rate of speed. It then crashed through a reinforced concrete bollard and went airborne before striking the kitchen area of the daycare.
The crash caused severe structural damage to the daycare center.
In addition to State Police, fire departments from Port Carbon and Palo Alto responded to the scene.
A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for next Tuesday in Port Carbon.
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