Driver hits police cruiser, flees
Fleeing the scene of a crash is never a good idea, especially when the car struck is a marked police cruiser with emergency lights flashing.
Danielle Stoner, 42, of 615 Moore Road, Washington, faces several charges including driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol after she hit the back of a marked Canonsburg police sport utility vehicle about 12:45 a.m. Thursday on West Pike Street near Oak Spring Road.
Officer Jonathon Cornell had stopped the cruiser in the westbound lane of West Pike and activated the emergency lights so he could remove a tree limb that had fallen on the road.
Cornell saw a red Dodge Neon turn right from Bluff Street on to West Pike. The police officer was able to get out of the way before the car, driven by Stoner, struck the rear of the police vehicle. The car continued to accelerate, pushing the sport utility vehicle, before it able to get around the cruiser and flee west on Pike at a high rate of speed. Cornell got back in his cruiser to pursue the car and alerted other departments.
Stoner was caught about two miles away after she ran over a curb and pulled into a convenience store parking lot as Chartiers Township police and Cornell arrived.
Police said Stoner admitted to drinking at a fraternal club on North Central Avenue and also said she had smoked marijuana several hours earlier. She also told police she had two marijuana pipes. Police also found Xanax and Klonopin in her purse.
Stoner was taken to Canonsburg General Hospital, where blood was drawn to determine if she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She was then released to a family member. Charges are pending.