Woman accused of crashing on closed Tarentum Bridge charged with drunken driving, causing $200K damage

A Lower Burrell woman who police say drove past blinking signs onto the closed Tarentum Bridge, plowed into construction equipment, limped from the scene to a nearby gas station before police arrived and then fled an emergency room has been charged with driving under the influence.

Allison Plusquellic, 39, also faces charges of criminal mischief and several traffic violations in connection with the June 19 incident.

Authorities say Plusquellic’s crash caused $200,000 worth of damage.

In addition, her car caught fire when it plowed into construction equipment sitting on the bridge deck.

The westbound lanes of the Tarentum Bridge had been closed and under construction for 10 days at the time of the late-night crash.

Police allege Plusquellic drove past multiple road cones and “road closed” signs with blinking lights, ultimately making it about two-thirds of the way across the bridge before she crashed into heavy equipment.

Police arrived and found an orange Mitsubishi Eclipse ablaze with no one inside, according to the criminal complaint. An officer traced the car back to Plusquellic and, being familiar with her, asked another patrolman to check for her at the Marathon gas station at the foot of the bridge.

Instead, the patrolman found her “visibly intoxicated” near Nick Chevrolet, according to the complaint.

Police said she told the officer, “there were no signs,” as he took her into custody. The complaint noted he had not yet told Plusquellic why she was being arrested.

Later, police wrote, she told an officer she had “wrecked her car,” which she “loved” and was an orange Eclipse.

She was taken to the emergency room for rib pain, and an officer told staff he would be back with a warrant for her blood-alcohol content, according to the complaint. The staff told police she left about 10 minutes later.

At the Marathon gas station, security footage showed a woman police identified as Plusquellic limping from the bridge to the gas station, according to the complaint, and a witness reported she had come into the station “crying and shaken up” and yelling that she had wrecked her car.

The witness said Plusquellic said she didn’t see any signs, police wrote. When it was suggested she go back to the scene, she allegedly replied, “I can’t get a DUI right now.”

Police said contractors estimated the damage caused by the crash at more than $200,000. In addition to DUI and criminal mischief, Plusquellic is charged with summary offenses including reckless driving, driving without insurance, speeding and driving through a safety zone.

A preliminary arraignment and hearing are scheduled for Aug. 18 in front of District Judge Carolyn Bengel.

Plusquellic pleaded guilty in 2017 to criminal trespass after she climbed through the window of a Lower Burrell home and climbed into the homeowner’s bed.

Police said at the time Plusquellic had been drinking and began walking from a bar to a different home belonging to relatives. She originally was charged with burglary but pleaded to the lesser charge of trespass. Online court records also showed three prior convictions for driving under the influence.