Aug 3, 2016 2 min read

A family Christmas party resulted in tragedy in more ways than one. A car struck a pole and landed on its roof, trapping the teenage driver and ejecting a passenger. The driver went to juvenile court on unspecified charges and the passenger was seriously injured. The passenger’s mother and stepfather were charged with corruption of a minor and furnishing alcohol.

The mother, Amy M. Holmes, 39, of 228 Parker St., Houston, recently entered a guilty plea before Washington County Judge Gary Gilman and was placed on probation for 18 months, the first six months of which are to be spent on Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring, a bracelet or ankle device that can detect alcohol consumption through skin measurements taken throughout the day.

The judge also ordered she be evaluated for drug and alcohol use and follow any recommended treatment.

Photographs of the 2015 party at the family’s former home on McClane Farm Road in Chartiers Township appeared on Facebook showing a beer can in the hands of Holden Alexander, then 17, of Houston, who was the driver. The same brand of beer cans were found in the wreckage of the car that on Christmas night went off Route 519, Western Avenue, near the ATI Allegheny Ludlum plant, struck a utility pole, flipped and landed on its roof. Both Alexander and his passenger, 21-year-old Corey Mitchell, who is Holmes’ daughter, were seriously hurt.

Alexander made several “spontaneous” references about the source of the beer, Chartiers Township police said. His blood-alcohol content, according to police, was 0.111 percent, more than five times the 0.02 limit at which intoxication is presumed in drivers under the age of 21.

When charges were filed in March, Mitchell was being treated at home, receiving physical and occupational therapy after having been in a coma.

The case of Mitchell’s stepfather, Melvin Guy Holmes Jr., 40, also Houston, has not yet been scheduled. He is free on his own recognizance.