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A Collegeville man who is currently awaiting trial on his fifth set of DUI charges is facing new charges after he allegedly fled from police in Whitpain Township.
Patrick Laverty, 46, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of fleeing or attempting to elude police and driving on a license suspended or revoked for DUI, along with summary counts of speeding and careless driving, in connection with the May 27 incident.
According to the criminal complaint, police were on Skippack Pike between Lewis Lane and Narcissa Road at 2:48 p.m. when they observed a motorcycle following closely behind a dark colored sedan on wet roads. The motorcycle operator — later identified as Laverty — allegedly banked left “aggressively,” and accelerated past the sedan, police said.
Laverty then passed within three feet of the police vehicle, looked at police and waved, the report states.
Police said they engaged their emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, however Laverty continued to travel through a nearby neighborhood, including a cul-de-sac. As police attempted to stop Laverty at the entry point, he allegedly looked at them, passed by their vehicle, and eventually drove through the red light at Walton Road and Skippack Pike, according to the complaint.
The pursuit was called off due to safety reasons, however a license plate reader at Skippack and Penllyn Blue Bell pikes captured the license plate of the motorcycle, which showed it was registered to Laverty, the report states.
The following day, police said they spoke with Laverty on the phone, at which point he denied being involved in the incident. He later allegedly told police that he didn’t have his bike that day, but the complaint notes that police had not mentioned the incident involved a motorcycle at that point of the conversation.
Laverty then attempted to bargain about potential charges, but when police declined, the conversation ended, the report states.
Court records show charges were filed via summons on June 24, and his first court appearance on the new charges is a preliminary hearing on Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
At the time of the alleged incident, Laverty was out on $1,000 cash bail, stemming from his July 2023 arrest in Towamencin on his fifth set of DUI charges. In that case, police allege Laverty was found passed out behind the wheel of a running vehicle at the Royal Farms on Sumneytown Pike.
He currently has a trial scheduled for July 1 in that case.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
