Bobtown woman charged in fatal Fayette crash
A Greene County woman reportedly told state police she was running late when she ran a red light on Route 21 in German Township, hitting a car and killing its driver.
According to the homicide by vehicle charges filed against her Tuesday, Sarah Beth McCormick, 18, of Bobtown, told police she was going “faster than I should’ve been” when she went through the intersection at Yuras Run Road, hitting a hatchback and killing Denise Graham, 58, of Gallatin.
The crash occurred just after 4 p.m. on Oct. 18. Graham’s husband, Scott Graham, was a passenger in the vehicle and sustained a collapsed lung, three broken ribs and a punctured diaphragm, according to court paperwork. Before he was flown for medical treatment, police said, he told troopers his wife was driving across the road when their car, a Chevrolet Spark, was hit on on the driver’s side.
Two witnesses to the crash, Alysia Ginsburg and her boyfriend, Cory Daugherty, told police they were stopped at the intersection and saw McCormick’s vehicle “flying” down the road before it collided with the Grahams’ car.
Police said McCormick was taken to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital for treatment following the crash, and told investigators that as she approached the intersection, the traffic light was yellow. She reportedly told police that prior to making it through the intersection, the light turned from yellow to red and she hit the Grahams’ hatchback, court paperwork states.
McCormick told police she was running late, and on her way to California University of Pennsylvania.
Police said emergency responders attempted life-saving measures on Denise Graham, but she died at the scene.
In addition to homicide by vehicle, McCormick was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, and faces more than a dozen traffic citations including careless driving and reckless driving.
The charges were filed Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Daniel Shimshock, who issued a warrant for McCormick’s arrest. As of Wednesday, the case remained inactive.