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Woman faces charges in hit-and-run

3 min read
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A North Strabane Township woman, already wanted on a bench warrant after she failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on previous charges, is facing more charges after a hit-and-run crash Monday night.

Melissa L. Linton, 38, of 123 Hunting Creek Road, was placed in Washington County jail on the bench warrant after she was taken into custody by state police after the crash in the 300 block of McClelland Road, North Strabane police said.

Police were called after a police communications officer at the Pittsburgh station advised that a witness saw a vehicle strike another car on McClelland. The witness followed the vehicle to the rest area on northbound Interstate 79, just south of the Bridgeville exit.

The witness told township police Sgt. David Richards that he was pulling out of a driveway at 309 McClelland when he saw a gray Kia, with a person later identified as Linton behind the wheel, coming toward him, going off the road and almost hitting his vehicle before swerving back on the road. The Kia then reportedly struck a vehicle owned by the witness’s friend. The witness followed her onto the highway but thought she got off at the Southpointe exit. He said he got back on the highway and saw her vehicle parked at the rest area.

Linton was apprehended there and taken to Canonsburg Hospital so blood could be drawn to determine if she was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. While at the hospital, township police Officer Brian Hart told Richards he had a bench warrant for Linton.

Hart had charged Linton with possession of heroin and paraphernalia after police were called to her home in December when she allegedly overdosed. District Judge Jay Weller ordered those charges held for court in her absence after an Aug. 4 preliminary hearing and asked that a Washington County judge issue a bench warrant for her arrest.

Peters Township police charged Linton with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia after they say she was found slumped at the wheel of a vehicle behind a shopping center on Washington Road in late May. Linton failed to appear for a June 17 hearing before District Judge James Ellis, who also asked that a warrant be issued for her arrest, but she later responded to court paperwork.

North Strabane police charged her last week with possession of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license and careless driving in connection with an Aug. 6 crash in the parking lot at Sheetz on Washington Road. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on those charges next month before Weller.

Police will file charges against Linton in connection with Monday’s incident at a later date.

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