While police were cleaning up the scene of a van fire in Dickson City, a woman ignored police officers directing traffic and drove through the area, leading to a traffic stop that resulted in a suspected DUI arrest.
Officers responded to a burning minivan on Main Street around 11 a.m. after Dave Duchnik of Duchnik's Towing noticed the engine to the minivan on his flatbed truck was smoking, police said. Mr. Duchnik removed the van from his truck as flames started to spread through it. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, Mr. Duchnik put the van back on his truck and towed it away.
While officers were cleaning up the scene, Heidi Tedesco, 30, of New Jersey, drove past officers despite being ordered to stop, Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski said. Ms. Tedesco was taken into custody and could face charges pending the results of a blood test, Chief Bilinski said.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, borough police responded to the scene of a three-car crash that resulted in the last vehicle catching fire and rolling backward in the eastbound lane of Business Route 6 just after 3 p.m., Chief Bilinski said.
Officer John Sobieski jumped into his police cruiser and drove behind the unoccupied, flaming car to stop it from rolling farther down the hill, the chief said. He used a fire extinguisher to wedge the steering wheel in place and kept the vehicle in place until firefighters extinguished the blaze.
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