Schuylkill County Pizza Hut Employee Charged with Disrupting First Responders at Crash Scene

An employee at Pizza Hut in Pottsville is facing criminal charges after police say she obstructed emergency personnel as they were freeing an injured person from a vehicle crash outside the restaurant.

Aiyana Brode, 22, of Pottsville, was charged by Pottsville Police with obstructing emergency services and disorderly conduct at the scene of the crash on Aug. 19.

According to police, officers, EMS personnel, and volunteer firefighters responded to the scene at about 6 p.m., at the intersection of E. Arch St. and Route 61. Emergency vehicles and equipment were parked in the adjacent Pizza Hut parking lot to manage the scene, police say.

Brode, a Pizza Hut employee who is known to officers from prior incidents, began shouting and creating a disturbance regarding the emergency vehicles parked in the lot. At the time, emergency personnel were actively extricating an injured person from one of the crashed vehicles before rushing them to a nearby hospital.

Officers say they warned Brode to stop disturbing them and informed her that her conduct was diverting first responders from managing the scene and assisting those injured in the crash. Despite being warned that her continued disruptions could result in criminal charges, police say Brode continued to yell, repeatedly demanding that firefighters move their vehicles, and walked directly through the active accident scene.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5 before Magisterial District Judge James Reiley.

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