CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man charged with driving under the influence was ordered to pay over $500,000 in restitution for a car accident that cut electricity to the ethanol plant in East End in Dec. 2024.
Duane Scott Starr, 26, pleaded guilty to DUI, as well as felony counts of risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief before President Judge Paul E. Cherry who sentenced him on Monday to serve 90 days to one year in the county jail with two years concurrent probation.
Starr owes $524,637 to the Pennsylvania Grain Processing plant in Clearfield and $44,061.12 to First Energy Corp. His attorney, Ryan Dobo noted that he will be addressing the total restitution amount in a later hearing.
The charges stem from an accident near the current location of Dollar General in Clearfield Borough on Dec. 18, 2024 when the vehicle Starr was driving hit an electric pole.
The officer at the scene described the pole in the affidavit of probable cause as being “sheared off at the ground lying at a 45 degree angle and partially snapped towards the top with several high power lines connected.” As a result of the crash, the ethanol plant was without power.
Starr who had been moved across the street to a parking lot admitted to police that he had two drinks. He was moaning and bleeding. Emergency Medical Services transported him to Penn Highlands Clearfield for treatment.
Police received a report from PGP detailing the disruption of their manufacturing process that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It processes raw corn into ethanol, corn oil, dry and wet distiller’s grain as well as carbon dioxide. As a result of the accident, the plant lost electricity for 12 hours, disrupting their fermentation process.
In the report it lists the financial loss of just ethanol production to be $321,780. The loss in dried distiller grains was $74,511 and corn oil was $42,696.
In addition, some of the equipment was damaged with repairs totaling $9,000 and the cost to clean it was $76,650.
Tests on Starr’s blood showed he had alcohol, Clonazepam and THC in his system, according to police.
