A Hempfield woman whose driver’s license already was suspended for a DUI conviction in Allegheny County is accused of leading Greensburg Police on a 7-mile pursuit through several communities early Sunday before the chase ended in Youngwood Cemetery.
Officer Garret McNamara reported in court documents filed Tuesday that Kathleen D. Brunson, 62, was driving erratically about 1:45 a.m. Sunday on West Otterman Street near Gaither Way and he attempted to pull her over.
Police reports allege Brunson was driving about 15 miles per hour and suddenly made “a wide left turn” onto Gaither Way, crossing the center line entering West Newton Street when McNamara attempted a traffic stop.
According to McNamara, Brunson refused to pull over heading south out of Greensburg through several streets in Hempfield and into Youngwood. Police reported Brunson lives on Arona Road, just outside of New Stanton.
McNamara alleges that Brunson did not stop at two stop signs during the pursuit that ended along a pathway in the cemetery off North Grandview Avenue in the borough.
“The pursuit ended when (Brunson) went down a cemetery path with no exit. Officers removed Brunson from the vehicle,” McNamara wrote.
McNamara reported in court documents that Brunson smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech.
When she was transported to Excela Health Westmoreland hospital for a blood-alcohol test, McNamara said in court documents that Brunson admitted she was drinking earlier, but “was unable to tell me the amount or the time of the drinks.”
McNamara said in court documents that Brunson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.2% — more than twice the legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol.
In addition to DUI, Brunson is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on a suspended license, fleeing and eluding police, reckless driving, failing to stop at a stop sign, driving without a license and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Online court documents state that Brunson’s suspension is the result of a 2008 DUI conviction in West Deer in Allegheny County, where she failed to complete terms of a probationary program for first-time offenders.
Brunson could not be reached for comment. An attorney was not listed in court documents.
