Police: Aggressive driving on Rt. 8 leads to charges against 2
Two drivers have been charged for an alleged road-rage incident on Route 8 in Butler Township in March.
Butler Township police filed separate charges Monday against Steven C. Hottenfeller Sr., 47, of Lyndora, and Courtney M. Brand, 25, of Butler. The charges were similar for both, including three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and a series of traffic citations.
Neither driver has been arraigned on the charges. Following arraignment, they will be scheduled for preliminary hearings before District Judge Kevin O’Donnell.
Police said they responded to a one-vehicle crash at 5:12 p.m. March 25 at Butler RV Center and Auto Sales, 196 Pittsburgh Road.
A white Volkswagen Jetta crashed into three RVs, one of which had a cost of $92,000, according to a Butler Eagle report.
Charging documents said the crashed vehicle, a white Volkswagen Jetta, belonged to Brand. Police said they spoke with Brand, Hottenfeller and two witnesses at the scene and found that their accounts of the incident conflicted.
Police said Brand told them she had passed Hottenfeller’s vehicle, a brown Buick Park Avenue, by using the right lane. She told police Hottenfeller then tried to pass her by using the right lane, but a vehicle in front of him prevented him from doing so.
According to police, the woman who was driving the vehicle that initially stopped Hottenfeller told police that Brand passed her vehicle in the left lane, and a moment later, Hottenfeller passed her on the right using the berm.
Police said Hottenfeller told police he passed on the right berm because Brand had swerved her vehicle toward his.
“Hottenfeller stated he was trying to get away from the situation, so he accelerated past the vehicle in front of him on the right berm,” said the investigating officer in the affidavit.
The witness said they saw Hottenfeller keep pace with Brand’s vehicle, then roll his window down and yell at Brand. Brand also told police Hottenfeller was “yelling and flipping her off,“ but Hottenfeller denied the act while talking with police himself.
“(The witness) advised from her point of view there was no reason for (Hottenfeller) to pass her on the berm,” police said.
The witness told police the two stayed side-by-side, Brand in the left lane and Hottenfeller in the right, until Brand came upon an SUV in the left lane.
The SUV’s driver said both vehicles drove close to her vehicle’s rear, causing her concern. The SUV driver told officers they tried to speed up, but Brands and Hottenfeller also sped up and maintained a close distance.
“(The witness) advised through her rearview mirror, it looked like they were trying to run each other off the road by staying side by side,” police said.
The SUV driver said she then saw Brand’s vehicle hit a curb and head toward the RVs.
Brand told police she thought she could merge into the right lane ahead of Hottenfeller’s vehicle, and she believed his vehicle hit her rear-passenger side.
“Brand stated some lady stopped to check on her and asked why she tried to pass when she had no room to pass,” police said. “Brand again stated she thought she had room.”
Neither court documents nor past reports said Brand had been injured in the crash.
