Meteorologist Kevin Benson is no longer with WPXI.
News Director Scott Trabandt confirmed Tuesday that Benson no longer works at the station. He did not elaborate on the circumstances.
“We do not comment further on employee matters,” Trabandt wrote in an email to the Tribune-Review.
Benson declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday.
Benson is charged with three counts of drunken driving and four traffic violations in connection with a September incident in Washington County. The DUI charges are misdemeanors.
Benson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.311%, according to a criminal complaint. The legal limit to drive in Pennsylvania is 0.08%. Police said lab results showed his blood contained an inactive metabolite found in cocaine.
The incident happened on Sept. 20. Police filed charges on Oct. 9.
A 911 caller reported an erratic driver on I-79 near the I-70 interchange, who turned out to be Benson, police said.
A state trooper, who responded to the area at 5:45 p.m., saw Benson’s blue Ford Taurus crossing into the adjacent lane, following a vehicle too closely and moving at inconsistent speeds, according to the complaint.
The trooper pulled Benson over. During the traffic stop, the trooper wrote, Benson had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. He said he drank one glass of wine hours earlier and also told police he’d been visiting his wife in the hospital, according to the complaint.
Benson was arrested after the trooper said he wouldn’t follow directions to complete a portable breathalyzer test. In the patrol car and, later, at Washington Hospital for a blood draw, Benson was “acting disrespectful and was uncooperative,” according to the complaint.
A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 20.
