A former attorney charged with causing a deadly three-car crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 2018 while driving under the influence of alcohol and in the wrong direction is facing a jury trial beginning today in Carbon County.

Joseph Persico, 73, of Shavertown, Luzerne County, is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, and other related offenses.

Carbon County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Matika will preside over the trial for which a jury was chosen Monday.

Persico is accused of driving his white Audi A4 south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 476 on Nov. 6, 2018, when he crashed head-on with a green Honda Civic driven by Paul Gerrity, 50, who died at the scene from multiple blunt-force injuries.

The crash happened at the Mahoning Valley turnpike exit just before midnight.

Gerrity, police said, was headed to his job as a toll collector on the turnpike. A blue Toyota Corolla driven by Pan Tso was also involved in the crash and sustained injuries.

According to court documents, Persico had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.22 percent at the time of the crash, which is more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Police also found a partially full bottle of vodka in his car.

Persico had reportedly exited and re-entered the turnpike at the Lehigh Valley Interchange before the crash. He was captured on a dash camera of Tso’s vehicle driving in the wrong direction.

Persico was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for his injuries and later released on $150,000 unsecured bail.

Other charges against Persico include aggravated assault by vehicle, homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, involuntary manslaughter, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, careless driving, and reckless driving.

Following the incident, Persico resigned as an attorney with the Wilkes-Barre law firm Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald.

Defense attorney Paul Joseph Walker will represent Persico at trial.