CLEARFIELD – A Frenchville woman charged in connection with a serious all-terrain vehicle accident that injured a 4-year-old boy was recently scheduled for sentencing.
Amber Ruth Brady, 27, was charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, accidents involving death or personal injury, DUI, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and traffic summaries after the accident July 19, 2016 in Girard Township.
In sentencing court, it was noted that her plea was to the charges of DUI, accidents involving death or personal injury, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and summaries. The plea, for a nine-month sentence, included a second DUI case.
Her attorney, Chris Pentz, admitted Brady “made some poor decisions” but stated that she knows she deserves punishment and was ready to accept responsibility for her actions.
Judge Paul E. Cherry noted that Brady also has an additional DUI case pending in Indiana County. Instead of sentencing her, Cherry ruled that she is in need of a psychiatric assessment and sent her to a state facility for 60 days to be evaluated.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were called to a crash near the Shawville/Frenchville Highway. Upon arrival, police saw the ATV had body damage, damage to the wheels and was missing a windshield, which was in the back of the vehicle. The young child, Brady’s son, was in the passenger seat, crying.
He appeared to be in intense pain due to a severe injury to his leg. Several people were trying to help the boy as they waited for an ambulance.
Brady was dirty and smelled of alcohol, according to the report. She was bleeding from her head and was holding her ribs. She was staggering around and seemed disoriented, police reported.
She told the officers that she crashed in the area of Ridge Road, but she didn’t say whether it was in the forest or on the roadway. She stated that the cause of the crash was a problem with the power steering of the ATV.
In an interview with police, a witness who lives near the scene explained that Brady called her before she showed up at her door. Brady asked the witness to drive them to the hospital but didn’t want anyone to call 911.
Brady told her that when she crashed the boy was ejected. She put him and the other items that fell out of the ATV, back into the vehicle before driving the witness’ home. The witness and her husband both believed Brady was trying to avoid getting arrested.
Brady was taken by helicopter to UPMC Altoona for treatment and her son was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Blood test results show that Brady’s blood alcohol content while she was treated at the hospital was 0.183 percent.
