A Nesquehoning man faces multiple charges for driving under the influence following a crash that occurred in the borough in March.

According to the affidavit, filed by Nesquehoning police Chief Sean Smith, on Nov. 28, Bernard J. "Zeek" Stianche, 58, of East Catawissa Street, was charged with four counts of DUI involving drugs and alcohol, and one count each careless driving, public drunkenness and driving at an unsafe speed.The crash in question occurred at 4:10 p.m. March 30 in the area of Holland and West Catawissa streets, the affidavit states.Smith responded and saw a red Pontiac Grand Am, which had struck two parked cars on the south side of Catawissa Street, continuing eastbound before jumping a curb and striking a telephone pole.Smith approached the car to see if the driver or anyone at the scene was injured.A witness reported that he was behind the vehicle and identified the driver as Stianche.The witness also said it appeared Stianche was drunk.Smith approached Stianche to see if he needed medical attention, to which Stianche snapped back that he was fine and began laughing.During the conversation,Stianche showed signs of intoxication.He admitted that he had been drinking since the morning and then drove into two cars.Stianche then tried to leave the scene, but fell over.A witness helped Smith pick Stianche up and sit him on the steps of a building at the crash scene while Stianche yelled and used obscene language.Stianche refused both field sobriety tests and a blood alcohol test and then changed his mind on a blood test after learning he could lose his license and still be prosecuted for DUI without the results.He was then taken into custody and transported to St. Luke's Miners Campus in Coaldale.While there, Stianche began to yell expletives, exclaiming that he had been drinking and then hit on the phlebotomist.He calmed down long enough to allow the phlebotomist to draw his blood.As Smith escorted Stianche back to the patrol car, Stianche asked Smith to "sweep this under the carpet" before beginning to talk about Smith's wife.The blood test revealed that Stianche had a blood-alcohol level of 0.313, 0.233 over the legal limit; as well as showed the presence of alprazolam in his system.A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Central Court for Jan. 11 before District Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek.