A Bradford man will serve two years of probation for a drunken drive through a work zone with a backhoe last June.
Todd Moonan, 56, of 874 High St., was sentenced to 24 months probation, to pay restitution of $13,209, to have no contact with the victims, to perform 80 hours of community service, to obtain a assessment of mental health and other conditions. .
Moonan, represented by attorney Greg Henry, pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to DUI, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and three counts of criminal mischief: damaging property.
According to the criminal complaint, around 6:45 p.m. on June 19, Bradford Township Police Officer Don Neel was stationed on South Avenue on a special detail to slow down vehicles for a construction project of Bradford City Water Authority. A construction worker notified him that a man on the job site was damaging equipment and chasing people with a “chain loader.”
Neel responded to the job site and was told by a supervisor that it was Moonan “and he almost killed some workers,” and was now driving north on South Avenue. The officer saw a backhoe traveling northbound and activated his lights and siren. The backhoe did not stop, but turned onto East Warren Road and continued to 866 High St., where he pulled into the driveway and locked the backhoe. Moonan was the operator, and the officer noted that he showed signs of intoxication. The officer asked him what had happened, according to the complaint.
Moonan told the officer there was a disagreement with the contractor, Mortimer’s Excavating, and he “went to the site and moved some dirt,” the complaint said.
Teams from Mortimer’s Excavating and Bradford Water Authority told a different story. According to them, Moonan drove his full-size Case backhoe through the construction site and onto adjacent land, which is owned by the Moonan family. Material and building materials were stored there by prior agreement. Once there, Moonan used his backhoe to scoop up a load of dirt with the front bucket and dump it onto a street sweeper and a utility truck, hitting a staged water pipe and driving into two of Mortimer’s employees , throwing a load of dirt at one of the workers and demanding the workers stay out of the way, the complaint said.
The incident was captured on a mobile phone belonging to one of Mortimer’s crew members, who said Moonan made direct eye contact with him before driving towards him with the bucket raised several meters off the ground, according to the complaint
