A Lancaster man was recently ordered to stand trial for causing a fatal crash earlier this year in Pequea Township – in what was his third DUI charge since 2005.
District Judge William Benner ordered Benjamin R. Manotti be tried on counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, hit-and-run, DUI, and related counts regarding the Jan. 16 crash in the 2100 block of Millersville Road.
Manotti, 38, was seen driving erratically, and very slowly, prior to veering his Chevy Blazer into 33-year-old Gregory Pizarro’s Ford Taurus. The collision killed Pizarro.
Testing after the crash showed Manotti’s blood-alcohol level was .239 percent, about three times the Pennsylvania limit (.08 percent) for drivers.
It is Manotti’s third DUI charge since 2005. At the time of the crash, he was driving without a license, which has been suspended since a 2007 DUI conviction.
He remains at Lancaster County Prison on $1 million bail, according to Assistant District Attorney Maria Cusick.
Southern Regional police Cpl. John Michener filed charges.
Manotti is presumed innocent.