Connellsville woman charged in wreck that seriously injured woman and child
State police issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a woman accused of causing serious injuries to another woman and a girl while she allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and multiple drugs.
Police said Shana Demmer, 25, of Moyer Road in Connellsville crossed into the opposing lane of traffic near 900 Flatwoods Road in Franklin Township, Fayette County, and hit driver Amy Schwarz head on at about 9 a.m. June 21. Schwarz’ left leg was nearly severed at her knee, and her daughter, listed only as a juvenile girl, suffered damage to internal organs, court documents said.
Trooper Charles Hassenfeldt wrote in the affidavit of probable cause that he could smell alcohol on Demmer’s breath when he responded to the crash. She told him she was driving home from the methadone clinic and drank Mike’s Hard Lemonade after working the night shift. He interviewed her again at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh in the evening, and she claimed she was not on any drugs besides methadone. Police said a crack pipe and prescription medications were in her vehicle. Lab results showed she had cocaine and methadone in her bloodstream, and her blood-alcohol content was 0.111, court documents said.
Demmer, Schwarz and her daughter were all flown from the scene by medical helicopter to Pittsburgh hospitals. In addition to the cut that nearly severed Schwarz leg, she suffered multiple broken bones in her leg and a broken hip which required a pins and a rod to repair. She was bed bound for more than 60 days after the crash, police said. The girl suffered a broken vertebrae requiring surgical fusion, internal bleeding and organ damage that required surgery to repair, and a broken ankle.
Schwarz told police she and her daughter were driving to Perryopolis at the time of the crash because their home recently burned down. She said she saw Demmer in her lane, and she could not avoid a collision.
Police said Demmer’s driver’s license had been suspended since April 2018.
She is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, accident involving death or personal injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, three counts of DUI and several traffic citations.