CLEARFIELD – A Frenchville woman who has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, which caused the crash that seriously injured her young son, waived all charges to court at her preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Amber Ruth Brady, 27, of Frenchville has been charged by the Pennsylvania State Police with aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI; accidents involving death or personal injury; DUI; endangering welfare of children; recklessly endangering another person; and seven summaries. Bail has been set at $25,000 unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, while on patrol July 19, state police were dispatched to a crash that occurred at an unknown location in Girard Township. A crashed Polaris RZR and its occupants were located along the westbound berm of Shawville-Frenchville Highway.
The all-terrain vehicle had damage to its body and wheels and a missing windshield, which had been placed in a back storage area. It was very dirty and had the appearance of being in a crash, and state police observed a pistol in a holster inside the vehicle.
A young child who was four years old was in the passenger’s seat. He was crying and screaming and appeared to be in immense pain. When state police looked at his lower body, one of his legs was seriously injured; the lower half of one leg had been injured, causing the muscle and bone to be exposed.
“There was blood covering the leg,” state police said in the affidavit, “and blood was spilled across the floor of the vehicle. Several bystanders were trying to help the juvenile, as we waited for an ambulance to arrive [at the scene].”
State police observed Brady standing near the ATV. She was dirty and as state police approached her, they allegedly smelled a “very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.”
She was bleeding slightly from her head and holding her ribs. State police observed that her eyes were very red and bloodshot; she was staggering around the scene; she had slurred speech; and she appeared disoriented.
Brady told state police that she was the child’s mother. She said she’d been in the Ridge Road area driving the Polaris RZR with her son as a passenger. She’d crashed the vehicle but didn’t indicate if it had occurred in the forest or on the roadway.
According to Brady, she’d crashed the ATV because of a power steering problem. Following the crash, she’d put the child in the ATV to travel to their current location. She said no other persons caused or were involved in the crash.
Upon arrival of emergency personnel, Brady’s son was loaded into one ambulance. She was able to walk to the back of one, and while doing so, she asked several bystanders to get her cigarettes from her ATV. Brady was taken to Altoona Hospital by helicopter; her son was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh.
A witness at the scene told state police that Brady had called her cell phone and she had missed the call. Later Brady had arrived at her residence. Shortly after that, they discovered Brady had crashed her vehicle and her son had been seriously injured. The witness called 911.
She said Brady tried to convince her to drive both her and her son to the hospital. She didn’t want anyone to call 911 and instead suggested a ride by private vehicle to seek medical treatment for them. Brady had told her about crashing on Ridge Road and had given an approximate location.
The witness said Brady told her that her son had been ejected and she had loaded him and other items back into the ATV. Then, she’d driven them approximately five to 10 minutes to get to the witness’ residence. The witness believed Brady did this in order to avoid calling police and getting into any legal trouble.
After the scene was clear, the witness and state police went to search Ridge Road and surrounding paths to try to locate where the crash had actually occurred at. They were unsuccessful.
State police subsequently contacted the district attorney who advised to send a trooper to the Altoona Hospital to obtain a blood draw from Brady for the purpose of blood-alcohol testing.
A trooper from the state police at Holidaysburg went to the hospital to obtain the legal blood draw, and due to a lengthy investigation at the crash scene and medical procedures delaying the blood test, four to five hours passed from the time of the crash until the blood draw.
Later July 19, state police received a call from a resident who had assisted at the scene and who was familiar with the area. He had located the actual crash scene on Ridge Road. State police responded to the scene with him.
On July 30 the Holidaysburg trooper advised of a report from UPMC Altoona, indicating Brady’s BAC at the time of the blood draw was .116 percent. However, state police at Clearfield were aware it was likely from a sample for medical purposes several hours prior to the Holidaysburg trooper’s legal blood draw.
On Aug. 5 Brady provided state police documents they had requested from the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. These documents reported the seriousness of her son’s injuries. She also provided documents from UPMC Altoona that documented her own injuries.
On Aug. 25 state police served a search warrant for Brady’s hospital records. Upon reviewing her medical records, state police found Brady’s blood-alcohol level was .183 percent when taken after her admission July 19. The records indicated Brady also had a meeting with a mental health counselor.
In a statement provided for her medical records, Brady indicated she had a problem with drinking too much alcohol. She also allegedly admitted to driving the vehicle too fast for a dirt road and crashing with her son as a passenger.