A Schuylkill County woman is being held on a quarter-million dollars bail following a road rage incident on Tuesday in which she allegedly rammed vehicles, crashed into others, and then fled the scene on foot.
Witnesses tell police that for much of the incident, the hood of her vehicle was covering her windshield.
According to an affidavit filed by State Police-Frackville, the series of events began on the Tuesday morning, when dispatchers received a report of an erratic driver on Interstate 81 near mile marker 127.
A witness told police a Ford Focus was traveling south with its hood unlatched and flapping over the windshield. The driver stopped briefly on the shoulder to shut it, then continued down the highway—only for the hood to fly up again.
That driver, police say, was later identified as 28-year-old Jamie Fowler.
Minutes later, troopers were alerted to a crash on Route 61 near E. Darkwater Rd. in New Castle Township. The first trooper on scene found a red Jeep Compass overturned on its driver’s side in the southbound lane. The driver of the Jeep was being treated by EMS for a shoulder injury.
The driver told police he was driving south on Route 61 with a passenger when he received a call warning that a vehicle was speeding toward them from the north. Moments later, that same vehicle—its hood still covering the windshield—slammed into the rear of their Jeep.
The driver said the impact forced his car into a concrete barrier, causing it to roll. The passenger said he could see the hood completely blocking Fowler’s view as the car struck them.
Before that crash, police say Fowler’s vehicle had already hit another car. That driver, who was traveling with two passengers, reported that his vehicle was struck from behind three times by a Ford Focus. He said the hood on Fowler’s vehicle was up, obscuring her windshield, as she rammed their car repeatedly before speeding away and veering into a construction zone. One of the passengers, a nine-year-old child, was not physically hurt but was visibly shaken.
A construction worker along Route 61 told police he recorded the collisions on video. He said he saw Fowler’s car hit the first vehicle three times before swerving into the construction area and crashing into overturned Jeep. He described the driver as a blonde woman who appeared slumped in her seat as she drove with the hood blocking her view.
Another driver said she was traveling toward Pottsville when she noticed Fowler’s car behind her, moving at a high rate of speed with the hood still up. She told police she swerved into the construction zone to avoid being hit, striking roadside signs in the process.
By that point, Fowler’s vehicle had made it into Pottsville, where officers say the crashes continued.
Pottsville police told troopers that Fowler’s Ford Focus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 61 and Arch Street. Police later said Fowler fled that scene on foot.
When troopers arrived at Lehigh Valley Hospital–East, they found Fowler in custody of Pottsville police. Investigators requested a blood draw based on her behavior, which was completed by emergency staff.
Several people involved in the Pottsville crash provided accounts of what happened next.
One motorist who had been stopped at a red light at Route 61 and Arch Street, said he heard loud noises and then a collision. He reported neck and back pain after seeing Fowler “hanging” out her window before fleeing.
A passenger in that vehicle, said she heard tires screeching and a crash, and also saw Fowler running from the scene.
Yet another driver, stopped at the light, said his vehicle was struck from behind and pushed onto the concrete divider. And another driver, stopped nearby, said he heard screeching tires followed by multiple impacts as cars crashed behind him.
Multiple witnesses in Pottsville described similar accounts.
One said he saw Fowler’s car speeding down Route 61 in Saint Clair, veering onto the shoulder and running a red light without slowing down. He followed her toward Pottsville and saw a cloud of dust and wrecked vehicles at the Arch Street intersection before spotting Fowler fleeing on foot.
Another witness said she saw Fowler’s vehicle speeding south near Mall Drive, failing to stop at a red light, and noticed something covering the windshield.
And a fifth witness said Fowler’s car tried to squeeze between stopped vehicles near Arch Street but hit both. A sixth witness told police Fowler’s vehicle nearly sideswiped him moments before the final crash.
Police later reviewed video footage from a nearby location, which they say showed Fowler driving at high speed into the intersection at Route 61 and Arch Street before the collision, then running away.
State Police believe Fowler’s driving “throughout the duration of this incident put all victims and the general motoring public at risk of serious bodily injury or death.”
Fowler was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli and now faces 51 different charges related to the road rage incident on Tuesday, including nine counts of felony aggravated assault. One of those charges is for aggravated assault of a person less than 13 years old.
She’s also been charged with 9 counts of simple assault, 10 counts of reckless endangerment, 10 counts of disorderly conduct, 5 counts of accidents involving damage to vehicles or property, and DUI, all misdemeanors. Police have also added summary offenses for careless and reckless driving, failing to stop at red lights, speeding, and following too closely.
Tarantelli set bail at $250,000 and remanded Fowler to Schuylkill County Prison.
State Police are asking anyone with more information or video on these incidents to submit it to Trooper Adam Sajone by email at asajone@pa.gov.
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