A Schuylkill County woman is facing numerous charges after she allegedly caused a crash that left two people seriously injured, including one paralyzed from the waist down.
State Police say they were working in a construction zone on Interstate 78 in Tilden Township, Berks County, on Oct. 14. Shortly after 11 p.m., police say they were dispatched to the scene of a vehicle crash involving multiple injuries and entrapment near Mile Marker 26.
At the scene, police say two vehicles had sustained heavy damage because of the crash. A Volkswagen Atlas driven by Savannah Myers, 29, appeared to have rear-ended a Hyundai Santa Fe, which then struck a tractor-trailer in front of it.
Police say the driver and passenger from the Santa Fe were inside the vehicle upon their arrival. The passenger was laying across the vehicle with their head on the driver. Both were in severe pain and were rush to a nearby hospital.
Myers reportedly told police that she was looking at her GPS at the time of the crash and believed that her cruise control had malfunctioned.
A crash reconstruction team says that Myers’ vehicle was traveling 89 mph in a 65 mph zone at the time of impact. Police say that neither the accelerator or brake pedals were engaged on impact, leading them to believe that the vehicle was on cruise control.
Investigators believe that Myers failed to observe traffic slowing and stopping due to the construction zone ahead and that her vehicle impacted the Santa Fe at a high rate of speed.
Police say they later learned that the driver of the Santa Fe suffered multiple concussions since the crash and had been hospitalized multiple days. The driver also suffered vertigo, severe bruising, broken ribs, and a hematoma as a result of the crash.
The passenger in the Santa Fe suffered a spinal cord injury that prevents movement below their waist. They’ve also suffered a traumatic brain injury, a collapsed lung, broken ribs, and spend time periodically on a ventilator.
Police have filed two felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle against Myers. She’s also been charged with several summary traffic offenses.
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