All charges against a Lehighton man whose fuel tanker flipped over on Route 209 in Mahoning Township earlier this year have been dismissed.

The charges were dismissed by Judge Steven R. Serfass against Dennis Ruch, 67, on Monday in the Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County.

Ruch had been charged with three counts of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, as well as one count each of reckless driving, careless driving, driving vehicle at safe speed, and accidents involving overturned vehicles.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Mahoning Township Police Chief Audie Mertz in the case against Ruch:

At 8:55 a.m. Jan. 8, Mertz was dispatched to an oil truck rollover on Route 209 at Beaver Street.

The home heating oil delivery truck from D&D Fuel on its roof blocking 209.

The truck had flammable liquid placards on the front sides and rear.

A large volume of home heating oil was flowing from the truck, and the fluids traveled down both sides of the roadway into storm drains, and onto adjacent properties until the tank was empty.

Some of the fluids made it into the Lehigh River through the storm drains.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission reported an oil sheen was visible at Bowmanstown on the river.

The driver, Ruch, 66, refused medical treatment and denied being injured.

When he initially spoke with Ruch, Mertz asked him what happened.

Ruch said the road wasn’t treated and he lost control traveling downhill on Beaver Street.

Mertz observed S-shaped tire tracks in the snow/slush on Beaver Street starting around 400 feet uphill from the final resting point of the truck.

Ruch was asked to submit to a blood test and he consented, with the results showing the presence of Delta-9 Carboxy THC: 16 ng/mL, and Delta-9 THC: 2.2 ng/mL.

An inspection of the truck by state police showed there were no DOT numbers assigned to the truck.

The inspector determined there were no mechanical defects that would have contributed to the cause of the crash.

Attorney Matthew J. Rapa, of Rapa Law Office, P.C., Lehighton, blamed Mertz for not being aware of the current state of the law.

“There was an accident, it was an accident, no fault of Mr. (Dennis) Ruch that morning, and Chief Audie Mertz of Mahoning Township filed charges,” Rapa said. “It was (Mertz) having a lack of knowledge of the current state of the law; essentially he relied upon a statute that was revoked in 2018. He wasn’t aware of the current state of the law, and I would argue that as a chief of a law enforcement office, he should have been aware of it.”

Rapa added, “He subjected Ruch to a blood draw, and told him if he didn’t, he would be automatically guilty of it when there was absolutely no suspicions that he was under the influence. Without that, there was no case against Mr. Ruch.

Due to officer Mertz’s mistake, in addition to charging him with a DUI, he also charged him with summary offenses, and there was absolutely no evidence of that.”

Rapa said that “at the time of Mr. Ruch’s accident the law was very clear that prior to requesting a driver to submit to a blood test a police officer must have reasonable grounds to believe the driver had been operating the vehicle while having drugs or alcohol in their system.”

Rapa said there were chemical test warnings forms that advise drivers of their rights and that require police officers to execute an affidavit stating that they believe the driver operating their vehicle while under the influence.

That form was not provided to Ruch, nor executed by Mertz, Rapa said.