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Van driver in Chicora crash charged

CHICORA — A Gibsonia woman appeared Tuesday for her arraignment on felony charges stemming from a vehicle crash last week in the borough.

Destiny L. Gray, 29, appeared before District Judge Lewis Stoughton and was arraigned on charges including felony aggravated assault by vehicle and eight traffic violations she accrued when she crashed her Town & Country minivan around 4:30 p.m. Friday along West Slippery Rock Street.

Those traffic violations include reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, failure to use a seat belt and improper child restraint, among others.

Following her arraignment, Stoughton released Gray on her own recognizance.

A state police news release Monday identified Gray as the driver. Both she and an 8-year-old girl were injured in the crash. Police said Gray was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital, and her daughter was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

During her arraignment, Gray had bruises on her face, but she also said neither she nor the girl, who she identified as her daughter, suffered severe injury.

According to charging documents, police said multiple witnesses saw Gray driving at a high rate of speed and “catch air” as she crossed train tracks on the road.

“While on scene, I observed approximately 108 feet of tire markings after the train tracks leading up to the crash,” said the investigating officer in the affidavit.

In their crash report, police said after the landing from its vault over the tracks, the van left the road to the south and hit a house. Police said when they arrived, the van was on its side.

Though the crash report mentions another adult and two teenagers who also were in the vehicle, charging documents reference only Gray and her daughter.

“After the vehicle was flipped onto its wheels, I observed that the driver’s seat belt was locked as though it was buckled behind the driver,” police said. “I also observed that the 8-year-old passenger was not properly buckled.”

Gray is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 31 before Stoughton.

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