Tarentum man charged with DUI in crash that seriously injured elderly woman

A Tarentum man has been charged with driving under the influence in West Deer in connection to a head-on crash that severely injured an elderly woman.

Jose Joel Pineda, 37, was driving more than double the speed limit on Middle Road when he collided with Helen Cavanaugh, 87, on March 1, police said.

The speed limit on that section of road is 35 mph. Accident reconstruction investigators determined Pineda had been traveling 90 mph at the time of the collision.

Cavanaugh suffered multiple breaks in her leg, a broken wrist, broken ribs, a punctured lung, a brain bleed and pneumonia as a result of the collision, according to a criminal complaint. She was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Police Chief Jon Lape on Monday said the last he knew, Cavanaugh had been released from the hospital and was in a nursing facility. Lape couldn’t say what her condition was as of Monday.

West Deer police said they were called to the scene of a two-car crash with injuries and entrapment shortly after 1 p.m. Dispatch advised them that one of the cars was on fire.

Firefighters pulled Cavanaugh from her car, which had been emitting smoke from the engine compartment, police said. They were able put it out with a fire extinguisher.

Pineda told officers at the scene that he had been driving north on Middle Road when the other car swerved into his lane. He told police that he swerved to avoid it, and the car went back into the southbound lane. Then they collided, Pineda said.

Investigators said Pineda had a slight odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him and his eyes were glassy with dilated pupils. Pineda also had trouble recalling his Social Security number and birth date, police said.

Pineda went to UPMC Passavant in McCandless with leg and foot pain, police said. At the hospital, Pineda refused a blood test and said he would not sign anything without talking to a lawyer, according to the complaint.

When an investigator asked Pineda what was in his blood that he didn’t want police to find, Pineda allegedly said, “Maybe some THC, that’s it,” according to the complaint.

On the way to the hospital, Cavanaugh told a paramedic that Pineda’s car had been passing another car at the time of the collision, the paramedic told police.

The woman who called 911 told police she was driving on Middle Road toward the Route 910 intersection, when she heard “a very loud noise behind her.” She called 911 when she saw there had been a crash.

Investigators were granted search warrants for both car computers, and determined Pineda caused the collision due to his high rate of speed and his inability to stay in his lane.

Police filed charges against Pineda on May 28, according to online court records. Lape the accident reconstruction team had to finish investigating before police could file charges.

Pineda remained at large on Monday. He’s charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, DUI, and various traffic offenses.