A Schuylkill County man faces DUI and hit-and-run charges after police say he struck a woman’s vehicle at an intersection and fled the scene before officers tracked him to his home.
Brennen Dinger, 33, of Pine Grove, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of accidents involving death or personal injury, one misdemeanor count of accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle or property, and a misdemeanor count of DUI, along with multiple summary traffic offenses including careless and reckless driving for the alleged incident on May 31.
According to State Police, Troopers responded to a reported hit-and-run crash at the intersection of Deturksville and Hetzel’s Church roads at about 9:30 p.m. The victim told police she was driving westbound on Deturksville Rd. when she had to maneuver around a lifted red Chevrolet Silverado that was stopped partially in the intersection.
Police say that as the victim proceeded, the truck accelerated and struck her vehicle, causing disabling damage and temporarily preventing her from opening her driver’s side door. After the truck reversed, the victim was able to exit. When the victim asked nearby residents to call 9-1-1, the driver of the truck fled eastbound, police say. The victim provided police with a partial license plate number.
Based on the vehicle description, partial plate, and prior interactions, police identified Dinger, who lived about 2 miles away, as a suspect. Police contacted relatives, who reported that Dinger had spoken to his father about being in a crash and had returned home.
Police arrived at Dinger’s residence shortly after 10:30 p.m. and found a red Silverado matching the description parked in the driveway. The hood was warm and the truck had fresh damage to its front bumper, grille, driver’s side mirror, and fender flare that matched the damage on the victim’s vehicle.
After a relative arrived and contacted him by phone, Dinger exited the residence. Police say they detected a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Dinger’s breath, along with bloodshot and glassy eyes. Dinger denied being in a crash and claimed the damage to the truck was old. However, police say that their body camera footage from a separate interaction two days prior showed no such damage to the vehicle.
Dinger refused to submit to field sobriety testing and a preliminary breath test, police say. He was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI and subsequently refused a chemical blood test.
During follow-up interviews, neighbors corroborated the victim’s account of the truck fleeing the scene. Police also interviewed Dinger’s parents, confirming an outgoing call was made to Dinger shortly after the crash, though his father declined to provide details to avoid jeopardizing his son. The victim later identified a photo of Dinger’s truck as the vehicle that struck her.
On June 5, police say Dinger left a voicemail requesting an incident number for his insurance company. In the voicemail, Dinger asked if police obtained any camera footage of the crash because he “want[ed] to know who’s fault it was,” the affidavit states.
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