William McCarthy, 45, of Great Meadows, is now facing charges out of two Pennsylvania towns.
TAMAQUA, Pa. -- Hours before a Washington Township police officer was arrested at a roadblock in Hazelton, Pa. after allegedly crashing into cars while under the influence, police say he was involved in another hit-and-run crash in a nearby town.
Authorities say Washington Township police officer William McCarthy III was involved in a DWI crash in Hazelton, Pa. on Thursday. Pictured, McCarthy's Nissan Armada SUV. William McCarthy, 45, of Great Meadows, allegedly drove the wrong-way on a one-way street in Tamaqua -- a town about half-hour away from Hazleton -- at about 2:34 p.m. on June 16, sideswiped a parked vehicle with his Nissan Armada SUV and then fled the scene north on Route 309, according to Tamaqua police.
Police later learned a vehicle matching the description of McCarthy's Nissan was involved in motor vehicle crashes in Hazleton and were able to positively identify McCarthy as the driver involved in the Tamaqua crash.
McCarthy is now facing charges out of Tamaqua for allegedly driving in the wrong direction on a one-way roadway, accidents involving damage to an unattended vehicle or property and duty to give information and render aid.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on June 16, McCarthy was arrested at a roadblock in Hazleton after hitting several vehicles in that town -- two of which were occupied. His vehicle had heavy front-end damage when it was stopped and McCarthy had been driving the vehicle even though the airbag had deployed.
Hazleton police charged McCarthy with DUI, resisting arrest, reckless driving, accidents involving damage to attended vehicles and duty to give information and render aid.
Authorities haven't provided any additional information on the events leading up to the crash, but they have confirmed McCarthy was allegedly involved in a domestic violence incident in New Jersey prior to the Pennsylvania crashes.
The crashes in Hazleton and Tamaqua occurred nearly a year to the day after McCarthy was arrested on a DWI charge in Blairstown. During that incident on June 20, 2015, he was found parked on the shoulder of Route 94 in a daze and with an open bottle of tequila between his legs, according to arrest reports obtained by NJ Advance Media.
McCarthy, who'd been kicked out of the house a day before the Blairstown DWI last year, told the officer who stopped to check on his condition that he saw dead people and asked if the officer also saw dead people. McCarthy refused to submit to field sobriety tests and to provide breath samples.
According to the arrest report, his wife told Blairstown police there were family issues at home, that he'd been drinking heavily since 2002 and that they tried to get him help before. McCarthy denied having a drinking problem, according to the arrest report.
McCarthy's license was suspended for 90 days this past August for a first-time DWI violation in connection with the Blairstown incident. At the time of his arrest on June 16, his driver's license was valid.
McCarthy has been suspended without pay from the Washington Township Police Department pending the outcome of the investigation into the most recent incidents, police Chief Jeffrey S. Almer said in a statement on Friday.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.