Ligonier man gets 12 to 30 years in prison for crash that killed police officer
Clair Fink said Tuesday he doesn't remember what he did the night of May 5, 2015, when he drove the wrong way on Route 30 and struck a police cruiser head-on.
But Fink told a Westmoreland County judge that he deserved a long prison sentence for killing a Ligonier Township police officer in the violent drunken-driving crash.
Judge Christopher Feliciani ordered Fink, 33, of Ligonier to serve 12 to 30 years in prison.
Fink pleaded guilty in September to third-degree murder for causing the crash that killed Lt. Eric Eslary, 40, near Idlewild Park. Police said Fink had been drinking for hours before he slammed a pickup into the police car.
“I wake up every morning and go to sleep every night knowing what I did but not remembering what I did,” Fink said in court.
Fink, who was convicted for driving under the influence in 2006, told Feliciani that repeat offenders such as himself should receive harsh penalties.
Eslary's widow was one of a dozen friends and family members to testify during the two-hour sentencing hearing. Mary Beth Eslary told the judge she was devastated when she helped remove her husband's critically injured K-9 partner, Blek, from the mangled police cruiser and realized her husband was dead just a few feet away.
“He did not just kill my husband that night; he killed me. He killed the family I had. I do not forgive,” Mary Beth Eslary said.
Blek was retired from duty and is living with the Eslary family in Ligonier. He still struggles to run because of his injuries, Mary Beth Eslary said.
All five of Eslary's children testified. His 18-year-old daughter told the judge she had forgiven Fink.
“We feel third-degree murder was too much. He did not intend to kill my father,” said Morgan Eslary, speaking for her sister and brother, ages 15 and 13.
Fink was charged with third-degree murder because he had crashed his company truck earlier that night and should have realized he wasn't capable of driving, said Assistant District Attorney Allen Powanda. Still, Fink later drove several miles on a one-way stretch of Route 30 in the wrong direction before he struck the police cruiser, Powanda said.
Fink had a blood-alcohol level of 0.197 percent, more than double the legal limit in Pennsylvania, court records show. Investigators said there was a trace amount of marijuana in his system.
Investigators said Fink and a coworker at Westmoreland Pools and Spas spent the day installing a pool liner in Uniontown and started drinking beer afterward. Fink drove the company truck to two strip clubs and a convenience store.
Witnesses said at one point the truck struck road construction barrels. Fink got out and looked at the damage, then drove toward Ligonier.
Powanda said it was Fink's actions and not the fact that Eslary was an on-duty police officer that led to the more serious charge.
“This defendant should have known he was too intoxicated to drive,” Powanda said.
Feliciani said Fink's prison sentence will include the nearly two years he has been in jail since his arrest and a three-year suspension of his driver's license after he is released from prison.
The judge could have sentenced Fink to 40 years in prison but said he was swayed by comments from Eslary's daughter.
“I believe what he (Eslary) would expect is to demand accountability but also do what his daughter Morgan suggested — demand forgiveness,” Feliciani said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
