Lyft driver on the lam, no shows for sentencing in North Huntingdon crash

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for a Lyft driver who pleaded guilty last year for her role in a drunken multi-vehicle crash in North Huntingdon left six people injured.

The lawyer for Slobodanka Bulatovic, 49, of North Versailles, told a Westmoreland County judge he learned about a half-hour before the scheduled sentencing hearing she had traveled without prior notice to Germany. She went there to receive treatment for ongoing medical issues and was expected to appear by video.

Bulatovic, who is of Serbian decent but a U.S. citizen, required a translator when she pleaded guilty last August to counts of drunk driving and aggravated assault with a vehicle.

Her sentencing hearing had been delayed multiple times following a medical procedure last fall and according to a court document filed this week by defense attorney Bruce Blissman. She suffered injuries in a subsequent fall in February that left her immobile and suffering from gastrointestinal issues that prevented her from appearing in court, according to Blissman.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she allowed Bulatovic to appear for her sentencing via a video chat.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” the judge said after Bulatovic was a no show on the video call.

Bulatovic had been free on a recognizance bond, which was revoked Wednesday.

Prosecutors said they will pursue Bulatovic’s potential extradition back to the United States and Westmoreland County.

“I don’t know we can safely assume we know if she’s where she says she is. I don’t know where we go from here,” said Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar.

Bulatovic faced up to 10 years in prison for each of the two aggravated assault convictions.

Police said Bulatovic was a driver for ride-sharing company Lyft and was en route to North Huntingdon for a fare when she rear-ended another vehicle as the driver attempted to turn from an eastbound lane onto Skellytown Road on March 9, 2022.

According to court records, Bulatovic did not apply her vehicle’s brakes and rear-ended one vehicle and careened across traffic into the westbound lane and crashed into another vehicle before skidding across the road on two wheels, witnesses told police.

Bulatovic had a blood-alcohol level of 0.174%, which is more than two times the legal limit for Pennsylvania drivers, police said.

Four motorists in the first vehicle and two in the second were taken to local hospitals.