Man charged in 2018 DUI crash causing serious injuries at Brownsville Drive-In
A Brownsville man was charged Tuesday for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana and crashing in 2018, causing serious injuries to his passenger.
Ronald Lee Smith, 22, of National Pike was charged by Redstone Township Police with a felony count of accident involving death or injury when not properly licensed, and three counts of DUI. His passenger, Paige Woods, 21, suffered lacerations to her aorta, spleen and kidney and a broken femur. She was entrapped in the vehicle when it crashed into the Brownsville Drive-In sign at about 10 p.m. Feb. 14, 2018, court documents said.
According to court paperwork, a witness told state police Smith was driving “very fast” and tried to hand her a bag of marijuana after the crash on Route 40. He allegedly gave it to a man, who left the scene. Police said the Chevrolet Equinox partially left the road near the Route 40 Classic Diner while traveling east, then left the road completely and hit a power box on a telephone pole and the drive-in sign on the passenger’s side.
Police said Smith smelled of alcohol, and officers found a half-full can of malt liquor in the center of the car and several cans under the driver’s seat. Woods told police on the scene she drank “a little” alcohol and Smith drank “a lot.” She was taken to Uniontown Hospital by Fayette EMS and flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, after she was stabilized.
Smith’s docket sheet does not list arraignment information. Charges were filed before Fayette County Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr.