Nov 27, 2013 1 min read

Man charged: Erik McKay, 34, of Amity, is charged by state police with false reports and obstruction over accusations he reported his vehicle stolen about 8:45 p.m. Nov. 21 while knowing it had been wreck by his girlfriend, police reported Wednesday.

Snow causes two crashes: Chartiers Township police said they responded to two crashes within an hour Tuesday morning, including one involving a Mt. Pleasant police officer heading to a hearing in her personal vehicle. Officers responded to a crash at 10:44 a.m. when the pickup truck driven by Amanda Brewer, 26, of South Strabane, slid off Hickory Ridge Road near Ryburn Road and rolled onto its side. Brewer, a Mt. Pleasant police officer heading to a hearing at District Judge Valarie Costanzo’s office in Cecil Township, was not injured in the crash, police said. An hour later, Ashley Balzer, 19, of Chartiers, lost control of her sport-utility vehicle while driving on Johnson Hill Road and crashed into a tree, police said. She suffered minor injuries to her hands in the crash. Police blamed both crashes on poor weather conditions and said they did not plan to file charges against either driver.