Seneca Valley Teacher Faces DUI Charges After Near Fatal Crash into Creek

Seneca Valley teacher Henry “Leo” Stefanacci has been charged with Driving Under the Influence after the car he was driving plunged into the Connoquenessing Creek in Zelienople in March.

Court records show Zelienople Police charged Stefanacci, a special education teacher at Seneca Valley Middle School, with DUI and careless driving in the March 3 crash.

He is scheduled to appear May 7 before District Magistrate Wayne Seibel in Evans City on the charges.

Stefanacci, of Zelienople, nearly died after the car he was driving skidded off Halstead Boulevard and landed upside down in the water.

Firefighters trained in water rescue pulled him from the vehicle after four teens driving on the road noticed a car overturned in the creek and dialed 9-1-1. He was taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh in critical condition.

Stefanacci told Cranberry Patch his body temperature dipped down to 77 degrees in the water, and he suffered a concussion and hypothermia. He also went into cardiac arrest and contracted pneumonia.

Still, he has no permanent damage to his heart or brain, leading doctors to nickname him “Miracle Man.”

According to the criminal complaint obtained by WPXI, a firefighter told investigators he noticed Stefanacci smelled strongly of alcohol when he was rescued from the creek.

Zelienople Police Chief Jim Miller told WPXI he is glad Stefanacci lived, but police had a job to do in this incident. At the time of the crash, Stefanacci had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, exceeding the state’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

“We did our investigation, and we learned about his blood alcohol level. We don’t treat people differently,” he told the news station.

Stefanacci told Cranberry Patch Wednesday evening that he was deeply embarrassed by the charges. He added he plans to lean on his wife and two daughters to get him through this tough time.

"They’re blessings," he said.

Since the accident, Stefanacci, a former non-believer, is living proof of a higher power. He remains eager to return to work at Seneca Valley.

"I want to get back in there and do what I love to do," he said.

Stefanacci continues to make progress on his recovery with help from a physical therapist. He has said it could take six months to a year before he is fully recovered. He admitted the charges against him are a setback in his recovery efforts.

"I'm just trying to get better physically and emotionally one day at a time," he said.

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