Charges will be dropped against a Ferguson Township man charged with driving under the influence (DUI) while he transported a friend who had been shot, to the hospital last month.

Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar withdrew charges against Ronel A. Smack, 25, due to justifications in the Pennsylvania Crime Code.

"These justifications cover people that have committed a crime that to avoid a more serious crime to themselves or someone else," Gricar said. "He had just seen his friend shot, he was doing the right thing at that time for him."

Smack drove the wounded Penn State student to Mount Nittany Medical Center, formerly known as Centre County Hospital, after being shot at an Oct. 4 party at the 1800 block of North Oak Lane in Patton Township.

In the 18 years Gricar has practiced law he said he has prosecuted more than 8,000 DUI cases and this is the first time he found it necessary to have the charges dropped.

"This was a time when I thought that there was a good justification for his actions, it was an emergency situation," Gricar said.