A 37-year-old Gibsonia man is facing a felony child endangerment charge after allegedly spinning donuts in a gravel driveway during a child drop-off in Clintonville Township, spraying gravel that struck his own 9-year-old son and an adult woman while denting two trucks. David Alan Carricato Jr. was charged August 8 following the July 26 incident on Donaldson Road, according to court documents.
Carricato had arrived at the residence to drop off his son, according to exploreVenango, and later returned because his son had forgotten an item in his truck. Investigators say Carricato became upset when a woman at the residence did not come outside to shake his hand, and that he then did donuts in his vehicle in the gravel lot. Pennsylvania State Police in Franklin filed the charges, which include felony endangering the welfare of children, along with misdemeanor criminal mischief and harassment counts.
According to the criminal complaint, flying gravel struck the child in the back as the boy ran roughly 20 yards toward a garage to get away from the spray. The complaint also states that gravel hit an adult woman outside the residence. Responding officers reportedly found pieces of gravel inside the nearby garage and observed tire marks in the gravel consistent with a vehicle doing donuts, per the affidavit described by the same outlet.
Estimated $2,500 in Damage to Two Trucks
The gravel dented truck tailgates, cracked a rear windshield, and left debris on a tonneau cover and toolbox, causing an estimated $2,500 in vehicle damage, the outlet reports. Two parked trucks were damaged in total. Under Pennsylvania law, criminal mischief involving property damage between $1,000 and $5,000 is graded as a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to Lampman Law. Pennsylvania criminal statutes also routinely require restitution in property crime cases, meaning a defendant could be ordered to reimburse victims for proven repair costs, per the same firm.
Carricato faces three separate charges stemming from the incident: felony endangering the welfare of children as a parent, guardian or other person responsible for a child; criminal mischief for damaging property; and harassment for subjecting another person to physical contact, graded as a third-degree misdemeanor. The felony charge is the most serious exposure he faces. Under Pennsylvania law, a third-degree felony carries a statutory maximum of up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, according to Pennsylvania's regulatory code. The harassment misdemeanor, by contrast, carries a maximum of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine under the Crimes Code.
Case Heads Toward Preliminary Hearing
The charges were filed in the office of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey, whose court covers Clintonville Borough, Clinton Township, Emlenton Borough and surrounding communities in Venango County. A preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled, exploreVenango reports. Under Pennsylvania criminal procedure, cases filed at the magisterial district court level must proceed to a preliminary hearing, where a magistrate decides whether prosecutors have established enough evidence to send the charges to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas for trial.
Carricato traveled roughly 60 miles from Gibsonia in Allegheny County to Clintonville Township, a rural Venango County community of 439 residents, for the drop-off. The county itself is sparsely populated, with just over 50,000 residents spread across two cities, nine boroughs and twenty townships, according to 2020 U.S. Census figures. Pennsylvania State Police Troop E, based on US Route 322 in Franklin, provides primary patrol and investigative coverage for the county, including the response to this case.
All charges against Carricato remain allegations at this stage, and he has not been convicted of any offense. The case will next move toward the preliminary hearing before Judge Lowrey, where the Commonwealth must show a prima facie case for the charges to advance.
