Woman faces 17 charges after fleeing police
A suspected drugged driver was arrested after allegedly leading state police on an early Saturday pursuit that started in Jefferson Township.
Police said a precision immobilization technique eventually was used to halt the chase that continued into Butler. No one was injured.
The defendant, Brittany B. Austel, 25, of Butler, is also accused of spitting in the face of a corrections officer after being taken to the Butler County Prison.Austel remains behind bars in lieu of $25,000 bond. She is facing 17 charges — two of them felonies.Police said that shortly before 3 a.m. they tried to conduct a traffic stop on the suspect's Chrsyler Sebring on Route 356 at Dusty Lane. When she failed to stop, police activated their emergency lights and sirens while giving chase.The pursuit proceeded into Butler, police said, where a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, was successfully used, authorities said.The maneuver, a police technique to terminate certain pursuits, involves the pursuing officer using the cruiser to push the fleeing vehicle's rear end sideways, sending it into a spin and out of commission.Police said Austel was taken into custody. In her car, according to charging documents, was a glass smoking pipe and an open can of Four Loko, a sugary alcoholic beverage.City police took the defendant to the county prison in a patrol unit. While in the cruiser, police said, she kicked a rear door and broke an interior door handle. At the prison, she allegedly spit at a corrections officer.District Judge Bill O'Donnell arraigned Austel on felony charges of fleeing or attempting to elude police and aggravated assault of a prison officer.Additionally, she is charged with simple assault, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, all misdemeanors.She also is charged with harassment, a summary, and eight traffic violations.O'Donnell placed several conditions on Austel's bond, including that she be released to the county probation office for pretrial supervision.Other release conditions that O'Donnell imposed are that she undergo a drug and alcohol assessment, and wear a so-called SCRAM bracelet. The acronym stands for “Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring.”The tamper-resistant device samples and analyzes the suspect's perspiration for the presence of alcohol. Strapped to an offender's ankle, the device monitors the individual activity hourly.
