Police: Drunk Fayette Co. Man Pushing Baby Stroller Falls Into Creek, Fights Responding State Trooper
SOUTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - Police say a man pushing a baby stroller was so drunk, he fell into a creek and almost took the child with him.
Then, he allegedly fought a state trooper who came to check on him.
KDKA's Ross Guidotti talked to the person who called 911.
"There was a very drunk guy walking down the road with a baby in a stroller," eyewitness Mirhi Nicholson said. "It was awful."
The man pushing the baby, with an unidentified female, would later be identified as 29-year-old Randy Smithburger of Uniontown.
"He couldn't walk," Nicholson said. "He was holding on to her, holding on to the stroller. At one point, the stroller was tipping over."
The child almost tumbled out several times. When Smithberger got to the edge of a polluted creek, he tipped over the edge and fell in.
"He fell in. All we could see were his feet up in the air," said Nicholson. "It was probably a year-old baby in a stroller they left on the road."
According to witnesses and police, after allegedly falling into the creek, Smithburger didn't go home for a dry set of clothes. He kept walking up the street, and that's where things got ugly.
"He wasn't rude to anyone over here, but once he got up there and the cops got him, he was very rude," said Nicholson.
Nicholson called 911 about Smithburger's alleged intoxicated condition. A trooper showed up to check on him and the child.
According to court records, Smithberger called the trooper, who was an African American, multiple names and used racist slurs.
Investigators say Smithburger took a swing at and fought with the trooper, who eventually got Smithburger under control.
Nicholson tells KDKA's Ross Guidotti she doesn't like to get involved in things. But in this instance, she's glad she picked up the phone.
"If he wasn't pushing a bay stroller, I wouldn't have called. If he was gonna hurt himself, I would have been 'whatever.'"
Smithburger, who was out on bond awaiting trial on another incident related to fighting, is back in the Fayette County Jail facing multiple felonies. he's being held on $30,000.
The trooper and the baby are okay.
