Pa. Senate leader’s top aide charged with DUI after driving off Route 283 in Dauphin County

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

The chief of staff and legal counsel to state Sen. Ryan Aument was arrested in March by state police and charged with driving under the influence after officers found him parked at the bottom of a grassy median on Route 283 East, west of the Route 743 exit to Elizabethtown, according to a criminal complaint.

Ryan Boop, 46, of Lancaster County, was already speaking with local officers when state troopers arrived at the scene at 11:24 p.m. on March 26 in response to a call from Northwest Regional Police.

State Trooper Gregory Archulet noted in his affidavit of probable cause that he smelled a “strong odor of alcohol” on Boop’s breath.

Boop, a former assistant Lancaster County district attorney who joined Aument’s staff in 2018, told officers that he had consumed alcohol earlier that night while at a dinner with friends at a restaurant in “the city.”

He said he was on his way home when he drove his 2021 Hyundai Tucson SUV off the road.

Boop was arrested and taken to the Dauphin County Booking Center that night. Officers administered a blood alcohol test, which registered Boop’s blood alcohol content at 0.199%. The legal limit is 0.08%.

On April 24, Boop was charged with DUI, careless driving and disregarding a traffic lane.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Boop declined to answer questions from a reporter, per his lawyer’s advice, but provided a written statement via text.

“As a staff member for a public official I am aware that I must adhere to a higher standard that demands personal accountability for my conduct and I fully accept responsibility for my actions,” Boop said. “I sincerely apologize to my family and community for my actions that have fallen short of that standard. I intend to continue to fully cooperate with authorities.”

In 2017, City & State Pennsylvania’s “40 under 40 Rising Stars” list credited Boop with helping pass legislation that expanded the use of ignition interlock protections to keep drunk drivers off the road. That was through his capacity as chief of staff to former state Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery County.

Boop’s wife, Ashley, works as Aument’s campaign communications director.

“Ryan Boop is fully cooperating with law enforcement, he’s taken personal and professional responsibility for his actions, and he has been totally honest and forthcoming with me since the incident – for those reasons, he maintains my confidence,” said Aument, a West Hempfield Republican who serves as his caucus’s whip, in a statement.

Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge David H. Judy is scheduled to hear Boop’s case on June 12 at 10:45 a.m.

LNP | LancasterOnline on Wednesday requested body camera and dashboard camera footage related to the incident from Pennsylvania State Police and Northwest Regional Police Department under Act 22 of 2017. The agencies have up to 30 days to respond and can seek an extension.

Aument, a Republican, represents northern Lancaster County and serves as the majority whip in the state Senate.