Police say a Schuylkill County woman was drunk when she crashed her vehicle with two children in the back seat into a tree earlier this month.
Police in Rush Township say they were called to the scene of a motor vehicle crash near the Masonic Lodge at Lafayette and Shawn avenues shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 20.
At the scene, police say they saw a vehicle crashed into a tree in the woods. Tire tracks through several inches of snow went from the roadway to the tree. There were no signs of braking or turning, police say.
The driver – identified as 29-year-old Jessie Lindenmuth, of Barnesville – was in the driver’s seat. There were two small children in the back seat.
Lindenmuth said she’d injured her leg in the crash. She also reportedly told police that she wasn’t wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash. The children, police say, were secured in the back seat, however, only one was in a booster seat.
While speaking with Lindenmuth, police say she “reeked of alcoholic beverages” but she claimed she was drinking heavily the night prior.
Lindenmuth was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Coaldale via Tamaqua Ambulance. A representative from the ambulance crew had reportedly told police that they, too, noted the smell of alcohol emanating from Lindenmuth as they attended to her.
Testing performed on Lindenmuth reportedly revealed she had a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.135%, police say.
Police have filed two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children against Lindenmuth. She’s also facing misdemeanor counts of DUI as well as summary counts of failing to use a seat belt and a booster seat violation.
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