Allentown Man Accused of Driving Drunk, Causing Wreck

Three days before Christmas, Hellertown police reportedly had a hard time handling a man suspected in a hit-and-run crash.

They took Jeffrey Jay Feathers, 51, of the 1700 block of South Idaho Street, Allentown, into custody on a back porch in the 1300 block of Main Street after he was seen hiding in bushes outside the nearby CVS, according to court records. When they asked him to get into a patrol car, Feathers allegedly became combative.

Feathers threatened to "assault and kill" borough police officers John Donato and Michael Scicutella, according to the court records, which also state that he kicked at the officers, kicked at the patrol car door to stop it from closing, and repeatedly attempted to break the Plexiglas in-car barrier by slamming his head against it.

Feathers allegedly also yelled profanities, spit at the officers and tried to disrupt the officer transporting him.

But once officers got him to the Bethlehem DUI center, Feathers consented to a blood alcohol test. His blood alcohol content (BAC) level was determined to be .15 percent--which is almost twice the legal limit.

According to court records, after the test his “attitude changed completely and he became cooperative,” providing authorities with a written statement in which he allegedly admitted slamming into the other vehicle and fleeing.

In a criminal complaint, Donato said that on the evening of Dec. 22, 2011 he was instructed to assist off-duty Lower Saucon Township police officer Kyle Haggerty, who reported witnessing the hit-and-run crash on Cherry Lane at the Hellertown-Bethlehem line (the records list the crash as having occurred in Bethlehem).

The driver of the vehicle Feathers allegedly struck, James A. Hilliker, said in a written statement that he was hit from behind and that he injured a knee in the accident.

Feathers, who was arraigned Saturday by District Judge Diane Marakovits and released on $5,000 unsecured bail, is facing a long list of charges, including: accident involving death or personal injury, accidents involving damage to attended vehicles or property, DUI and DUI with high rate of alcohol, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, loitering and prowling at night, disorderly conduct, harassment, public drunkenness, reckless driving, careless driving, driving vehicle at safe speed, and following too closely.