A Gillette man is charged with DUI, leaving the scene of a crash, and attempting to elude police after a Casper officer claims to have seen sparks flying from the man’s vehicle before he fled.
Donnie Vitto, 44, is charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, having an open alcohol container in a moving vehicle, attempting to elude police, and leaving the scene of a crash.
Casper Police Sgt. Adam Uhrich stated in an affidavit filed last Friday that he “observed sparks to be coming from the passenger side of the vehicle” while driving approximately 10 mph over the posted speed limit on Collins Drive.
Uhrich also observed that the car had a “substantial lean,” a nonfunctional headlight, and damage to the front passenger side, “indicating the vehicle had been involved in a recent crash.”
After that, the officer stated that he attempted to pull the car over.
After turning on his cruiser’s overhead lights, Uhrich wrote that the car — later discovered to be driven by Vitto — sped up to about 70 mph in a 30-mph zone before making a “abrupt turn,” sliding into a curb, and coming to a stop after traveling a short distance further.
Vitto then stumbled “substantially” and “appeared to fall” back onto the car before obeying officers’ orders to lie down on the ground, according to the affidavit.
According to Uhrich, officers at the scene discovered a 3/4 empty 200 mL bottle of Fireball whiskey in Vitto’s car.
Officers discovered wood fragments underneath the hood, “a piece of wood with lattice attached to it,” a broken axle, and “the wheel bent into the frame of the vehicle.”
According to the affidavit, dispatchers received a report of a hit-and-run involving a car crashing into a deck that pushed “the deck forward approximately 50 feet” shortly after Vitto was apprehended.
Officers then transported Vitto to the Natrona County Detention Center, where he allegedly registered a 0.249 BAC% on a breathalyzer. That is more than three times the Wyoming legal limit.
