“On May 14, 2017, at approximately 0050 hours I, Officer Terry Childs, unit 3-13, was sitting on Semple Street before Forbes Avenue observing traffic.
I was sitting in a marked patrol vehicle, 1240, when I could hear an engine revving and then the sound of a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed coming from behind me. I looked into my passenger side view mirror and observed an SUV traveling on Semple Street approaching my position. I started to turn my headlights on when the vehicle ran the stop sign at Semple Street and Forbes Avenue, turning right onto Forbes Avenue. I got behind the vehicle with emergency lights on notifying UPPD dispatch that I was attempting to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was traveling in a careless and reckless manner with no regard for the public or other vehicles. The vehicle then quickly turned left onto the 100 block of Meyran Avenue before crashing into the Loeffler Building, 121 Meyran Avenue. The vehicle was a tan Ford Explorer with PA registration GTX 5678, owned by Amy Bookser.
The male started to exit his vehicle from the drivers side as I was approaching and I drew my firearm giving direct verbal commands for the male to lay on the ground and then place his hands behind his back. I checked the vehicle to make sure no other passengers were in the car and also asked the driver if there were anyone else in the vehicle to which he replied no. Officer Dubrosky arrived and as I provided cover he placed handcuffs on the male. The male was identified by his name, Alexander Bookser, and DOB. I observed Bookser’s eyes to be glassy and bloodshot, and Bookser’s speech was slurred. While on scene, I was unable to smell any alcohol, due to the antifreeze leaking from the vehicle. Bookser was placed into 1229 until medics arrived on scene.
Standardized Field Sobriety Testing was not completed due to possible injuries that could of been sustained from the accident.
Officer Riley arrived on scene, and I advised her that there were victims that stated they had been hit. She obtained their information and advised that they were shaken up from the incident. I will contact them on my next tour of duty to get more information and complete a supplement. Officers Riley and Braun also retraced the route and found another vehicle that was damaged from the vehicle. The first vehicle damaged was a blue Nissan Sentra, with PA registration HGW 0683, owned by Michele Campbell. It was parked at Semple Street and Louisa Street. The second vehicle that was hit was a tan Mercury SUV owned by Laura Randolph and was operated by Matthew Hill. They were struck on Fresco Way before Semple Street. Bookser reversed off of Fresco Way back onto Semple Street, and continued back onto Semple Street before approaching my location.
Medic 5 arrived on scene and only asked if Bookser needed medical attention to which he declined and medics cleared the scene. City Fire arrived and were notified of the damaged standpipe and referred the damage to the property owner. City Fire placed liquid absorb on the radiator fluid and cleared. McGann and Chester arrived on scene and towed the vehicle. Sgt. Mitchell completed the tow form and placed into the log at UPPD.
I transferred Bookser to my patrol vehicle and transported him to UPMC Presbyterian to be seen by a doctor, due to possible injuries from the crash. Bookser was showing a possible head injury with redness and swelling to his forehead. Once at UPMC Presbyterian, Dr. Lynch arrived to his room and asked if he had any pain or wanted to see a doctor, and Bookser declined any medical attention. With Officers already at UPMC Presbyterian, a blood test being readily available and RN Dempsey having the equipment ready, permission was granted by Lieutenant Redman to proceed with the blood draw. Bookser gave consent for a legal blood draw at 0145 hours and blood was drawn from his left arm at 0147 hours. Four tubes of Bookser’s blood, 2 green and 2 grey, were placed into an evidence bag and sealed and transported back to UPPD. The evidence, Bookser’s blood, and recovered property were placed into locker #4 to await submission to the crime lab.
At this time, there are no estimates on damages to the two vehicles and the Loeffler building. Oxford Management was notified to check on the Loeffler Building and to get into contact with UPPD.”
pittpov.com 
No DUI is pretty. Mine happened in 1995 and I was handcuffed and jailed for the night in a holding cell with some very shaky folks. About $6000 and a 6 month period of not drinking reporting to a monitor weekly to blow into the machine,
it was over. I failed the roadside sobriety test.
Have not drank and driven since.
In Maryland, you get one DUI chance. Get a second and you do jail time. For the one time I got caught, there were probably another 30 or so that I didn’t. 28 of those as a student at Pitt.
Wish Bookser nothing but the best and hope he gets help or at least this humiliating situation scares him straight!
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First offense, bad but could have been worse if people would have injured rather than just property.
If Bookser does the right things such as pleading guilty or no contest in a plea deal, pays for damages, does community service and attends DUI driving school, etc. I would anticipate him probably seeing a multiple game suspension by Coach Duzz.
For sure, say bye bye to your license for a few months there Mr. Bookser. Live & LEARN. Be thankful you didn’t hurt anybody else and that you’re still in one piece too.
You let your team down.
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I too have had that experience and to this day am glad it happened. I didn’t drive drunk a lot but I did it sometimes and it is so easy for your life to change in a split second – that wouldn’t have happened but for my bad judgement.
Lucky for me (in a way) I had a good friend who killed himself in a drunk driving single car collision at age 18 and took that to heart. Then again in PGH in the ’70s it was easy to get drunk and get around without driving.
Now arrests are a different story for me – I spent my share, and more, of nights in jail and every one had to do with drinking. Most were for fights – every ass wants to take a swing at the tallest guy in a bar – but I did the time and went out again.
Booze (and no parents) was the biggest reason I enlisted into the Service. In a moment of clarity i realized that if I didn’t get some heavy outside authority in my life I was going to go downward very fast… and I was 25 at the time.
Every day of my life from 17 years on I drank unless I was physically unable to. Every day. Even after watching both my parents drink themselves to death in their 50s – as highly functioning alcoholics. That didn’t stop me at all.
So seeing a Pitt player doing the same thing sets off big warning bells in my head.
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This kid, as an ACC honorable mention, may have someday had an NFL future. Risking a full year suspension for such a stupid act is not only stupid, but could be very costly. Let’s hope it was only booze. They took blood samples at some point and more info may be coming in the future..
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Let’s not start comparing criminal records here guys. One question and not trying to be a smart ass Reed but you just wrote you were 25 and still making stupid immature decisions? That schitt happens to the best of us.
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Agree Dan and Ike from last thread. RKB will probably have some great insight here on the blood draw. It has been a while since I looked at criminal law, but the blood test will only show the content level at the time of the draw, not the time of the accident. Bookser was cognizant enough to follow directions from officers, according to the report. He wasn’t stumbling, dead dog drunk. He followed their commands. Theoretically, he could have done three shots of whiskey at 12:45am and got in the car and crashed at 12:50 and not yet been over the legal limit. An hour or so later the alcohol absorbs into the system and the reading is higher. I may have that wrong as I am old now, but a theory nonetheless!
Secondly, the ARD program that I mentioned in my first post about this carries with it, mandatory alcohol counseling and a myriad of other things. He will do that as it is required, just as thousands of others have done.
The second piece of this and which I somewhat agree with Reed on, is how this fits into the team dynamic. Coach Narduzzi needs to think this through. This case is similar to Blair, sorry. The potential severity is just through a different mechanism. Being clocked at 117mph in the city limits puts just as many people in harms way, if not more. A crash with another vehicle at 117mph is a lot different then a crash at 35 mph. A crash into pedestrians at either speed seems to be more fatal at 117mph then at 35 mph.
I am not making excuses for the behavior here at all. He should and will be punished through the legal system. That will follow him around for years. The next part is the team discipline. Only Coach Narduzzi knows if Bookser is a cancer or a hard worker in the locker room. If deemed a cancer, he will get a stiff internal punishment and if he is a hard worker that made a mistake, he gets the Blair/Boyd one gamer. I won’t judge Narduzzi either way. He knows the inside baseball of all these kids. He also knows that issues create opportunities for the accused, the back-up players and the coach.
Also, look at this as a business. If Narduzzi gives him a stiff penalty (potentially putting his nfl career at stake), it will be used against him in recruiting. That story will need to be explained properly. If the punishment is worse than the others about missing games, he better be able to explain that to parents that are sending their kids here. And let’s be honest. Kids are coming to Pitt to get the chance to go pro as they do with most all of the power5 teams. If we are handing out harsher penalties, it will make it harder to recruit. That’s the business side folks. Watch what you ask for. There are no moral victories.
PS : Chryst doesn’t let Shell go if Conner wasn’t sitting there….that was a strategic business decision.
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Very few of us went through college and didn’t get drunk and at times do something stupid. At age 21 we all made mistakes but some didn’t get caught as he did. He’ll pay for a long time in many ways. Big question will be the much needed support system of teammates and friends in the coming months. Being young we learn a lot of tough lessons. I wish him the best and will be positive. Upitt I see baseball team swept over the weekend again worst record in ACC both divisions. 8-17 in ACC. Will their be changes never winning record in ACC or do we accept being last as normal. H2P BEAT PENN STATE
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Ike – I accepted every and all consequences of my actions when i was younger. i never bitched or complained because I knew I owned what had happened.
Again – I’m not criticizing Bookser at all for what happened and have made one suggestion of discipline outside of addressing the alcohol problem he obviously has. BTW – I understand he is very contrite and being proactive in addressing his behavior and the results of what might come his way so good for him on that.
BTW – Dr T. This is his 2nd alcohol related offense – he had a D&D in 2015. That was dismissed in Civil court.
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Reed, could you be more clear on your last sentence? He still had a criminal charge that stood, right?
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So in Utah, the dui number has been reduced to 0.02. Basically a dry state if you are going to drive. Not sure that you have a problem if you get 5 dui’s there for exceeding their limit. I think that is just unlucky. But it could be both, I suppose, depending on how high you blow. I think PA was .15 for a long period of time before decreasing the content.
There is always more to a story and we will most likely never know if the professionals believe he has a problem or not. The coaches may know more and know he may have had 10 such incidents. If he has had 10 such incidents, then this is on the coaches for not getting him help. If this is his first issue (again remembering the first one was not an offense legally), not huge. He will get help through ARD. One game and move on.
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Are we saying his “first” charge was dismissed? Folks, it’s not an offence and should never be brought into the conversation. This is another thing I’m getting tired of. It’s hard enough to find sympathy for things you’ve been found guilty of, now we can’t forgive people who are found not guilty?
Where is the faith in the justice system then?
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Hew Reed, you brought up the Coast Guard a little while back. Anything new happening with them today? .. 🙂
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Yeah, funny you should ask me that – I just received a rather amazing call from an old buddy who teaches at the Academy.
I’ll stay out of politics on here Ike as I ask others to do…
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I think it’s pretty clear after reading that report that Bookser is facing a multiple game suspension from HCPN.
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Ike – you are confusing formalities with realities. Just because a charge is dismissed absolutely does not mean it never happened.
It sure as hell did and as I have said all along Pitt must, and has, taken disciplinary steps outside of Civil Court system in previous cases regarding incident and acted on their own way before a civil court convenes.
I swear – the same people (not necessarily Ike) who bitch and moan about these “new” generations not accepting personal responsibility for their actions are sometimes the first to turn a blind eye to things because the young men making the trouble are football players or they are younger or….
“Guilty” is a civil designation and that is all it is. “Did it and has to be held accountable for it” is what Pitt needs to be concerned with.
The bald truth is that Alex Bookser has been arrested twice in two years on alcohol based incidents. He did the deeds and that it the reality what happened. Now – do I think Pitt should go back and punish the player for something that happened two years ago. NO, I do not… unless this is the first the institution is hearing about it the two-year old incident which isn’t the case.
But – given our above discussions about the need for Alex Bookser to get help with a drinking problem which is pretty evident exists… and which everyone on here seems to agree about – then isn’t that 1st incident a key component of what happened and our reactions and discussions about it?
However – if that first alcohol incident didn’t happen would the same sentiment about there being a problem with drinking exist? Most probably not.
I’m getting major heat on Facebook about this as readers (or posters who didn’t read the article but slammed me anyway for it) seem to just assume that I’m taking personal potshots at Bookser and push for punishment – when the truth is I haven’t stated my opinion on that issue at all. Health and well being demands by Pitt to Bookser yes I have done that – but punitive actions I haven’t written one word about.
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Reed, I was just ready to post when I read your latest comment. Hey man, I agree with all you say but here’s a point to consider.
When the accused is exonerated from a charge or arrest, in the future the exonerated case cannot be used against the defendant. Jurors are not allowed to hear of it during a trail. Now, we are not the jurors here but he’s still being persecuted for a alleged crime he was exonerated from. This the law.
We need to think about that.
Trying to make the point. A different scenario altogether and not the case for Bookser, people can accuse anyone one of us for a crime we did not commit at anytime. Now don’t get all blown out of proportions here, I’m NOT talking about Bookser but you can see the reasons why exonerated charges are not permissible in court to help determined any outcome of a hearing or trial. Why should we be allowed to persecute Bookser based on nothing? It’s simply not fair.
As far as speculating, that’s ok by me I do it all the time. Maybe we should take a step back and gather more information and disregard some we already have?
In many countries when the accused are acquitted, the accuser has to pay the court costs that accrue.
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Ike, Narduzzi will not be holding any court proceedings when he meets with Bookser and determines what course of action to take. I’d be willing to bet Narduzzi will take into consideration that exonerated charge when he decides to rule.
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It will matter when he hands down team punishment though. Blair set the example as a first time offender.
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While I didn’t think Boyd deserved suspension because it was only considered a DUI based on his age (a few weeks shy of 21), Bookser absolutely has to be suspended. If not to influence Bookser’s future decision making, to at least send a message to the team. Should be a game for each offense that sticks.
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No Roundtable Call-in tonight due to Pens game.
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I figured and thought you had suspended the round-tables until after the Pens playoff’s anyways? That’s ok though, as there seems to be nothing to talk about concerning PITT football. lol!
Isn’t that just the way it works? I am compounding an ongoing list for fodder.
FYI. Pens Do NOT play next Wednesday May 24th. Mark your calender’s.
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I was all set to do the round-table.Wife doesn’t like hockey & nothing I like on Wednesday night TV. Was going to have both laptops available if any problems with one or the other. Well we need more than two to tango on the round-table.
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The cerebral cortex is six layers thick, and many of the important synapses (connections) have yet to be completed by adolescence…hence the stupid decisions we made at that point in our lives.
Still, the behavior pattern of young Alex is concerning.
I hope he wants to get help.
Football, at this point, is secondary….
Until the PSUcks game, of course.
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Sorry for getting so serious. I am genuinely worried about Bookser as a person. Someone mentioned about how in the 70s people drove drunk all the time. I always had a 6 pack in the Car on weekends running mom to the grocery or me to the car wash. Always remember the great
Sam Kinneson, when informed he could no longer have open containers in the car saying “how in the hell am I supposed to get anywhere?!!!”
My how times have changed!
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I don’t necessarily believe he has a problem. The only thing that I said was that the ARD program does have a mandatory alcohol counseling component, so if he goes the ARD route, that is what happens. I also think the timing of the blood draw will be important as well as absorption rates.
One game. Unless he has prior issues we don’t know about.
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Huff you have raised a point that many people do not realize. How soon someone consumes libations and how much they may have had to eat then drives, has a major impact on blood levels. I don’t think any of that is the case with AB though.
We have little or no information to go on in his case. Hell, it was Mothers day? Was this day meaningful to him in any kind of profound way? We just don’t know.
Like I mentioned about speculating, I do it all the time but trying to figure out who PITT’s next year starter at center is a different kind of speculation.
I do have to say though. Almost everyone here at the POV has suggested he gets the help he may need. Even if it’s only a common sense refresher course all the way to intensive in-care treatment. I worry about Alex and his future as I believe they are one and the same at this point in his life. …. ike
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Huff under PA law if the blood is drawn within 2 hours it doesn’t matter what it was at the moment you were behind the wheel. You drank it and got behind the wheel. When I started we were required to relate back to the time of driving which forced the defendants to make statements about how much they drank in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Do you think his BAC was less when he went on this drunken rampage through the streets of Oakland? On my best guess this guy, assuming it was only alcohol and not combined with weed is that he was over .14, probably well over.
Folks there were two people in the car he struck. What if your relatives were struck and he fled? Oh no big deal you would say, he plays for my team. Yeah. This was not an ordinary DUI. He fled the scene of a crime like a spoiled coward. He put his car through a plate glass window.. . This is grotesque misconduct not seen in more than 1 or 2 percent of all DUI arrests. Take your fan blinders off. Read the report and visualize what this looked like to those who were there. I have nothing against him personally and i don’t seek the max on everyone I prosecute. I deal with each case on the facts of that case which is my ethical responsibility. In fact he is innocent until proven guilty. But this coward has a big drinking problem and excusing his conduct because of how DUIs were treated in the 60’s and 70’s or because he is a football player is no better than Ped State did with Sandusky or trying to cover up the frat homicide. It does not do him good and that is where our concern should lie. Oh yeah and to his four victims that night.
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