The man charged with killing a Ligonier Township police officer in a DUI crash in 2015 was sentenced yesterday in Westmoreland County Court.
Judge Christopher Feliciani ordered Clair Fink to serve 12 to 30 years in prison for a guilty plea to a charge of third-degree murder connected with a crash on Route 30 near Idlewild Park in Ligonier. Fink had been drinking for several hours and was driving the wrong way on Route 30 when he struck a police cruiser head-on, killing Ligonier Township Police Officer Lt. Eric Eslary and injuring his K-9 Partner, Blek. Police determined his blood alcohol level at 0.197 percent, more than double the legal limit, and that there was marijuana in his system at the time.
After Fink is released from prison, his license will be suspended for three years.
