Credit: Contributed
New information lead to one felony charge to be dropped against a woman accused of causing a serious December motor vehicle accident Bristol Township.
Rachel Cheeseman, 47, of Welsford Road in Bristol Township’s Fairless Hills section, is set to face trial in county court in Doylestown on charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, fleeing or eluding an officer, driving under the influence, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and related offenses.
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A charge of felony aggravated assault was dropped Tuesday during Cheeseman’s preliminary hearing before District Judge Joan Kline.
Cheeseman’s attorney Ron Elgart said the charge was dropped in light of new information that came out about the December 8 vehicle accident that happened after his client is alleged to have been under the influence and fled from police.
Elgart said a passenger in the maroon Ford Taurus admitted to taking the wheel and causing the car to slam into a pole at Green Lane and Emilie Road, causing another passenger to suffer serious injuries. That passenger is still recovering from injuries sustained.
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According to police, officers on patrol pulled Cheeseman over just after midnight on the rainy December morning after they spotted her drifting on Mill Creek Road in Levittown.
Once officers pulled the car over and approached, they spotted Cheeseman seated behind the wheel. She had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and reeked of alcohol, police said.
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While officers were speaking with the person seated in the passenger seat, Cheeseman “jerked” the car forward, police said. Despite being asked to not touch the gear shifter, she put her hand on it two more times, according to a criminal complaint.
The final time she touched the gear shifter, she drove off on the officers.
Next time the officers saw the maroon car, it was wrapped around a utility pole.
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Firefighters from Edgely Fire Company and Levittown No. 2 Fire Company extricated the two passengers from the car. The female passenger, who was most seriously injured, suffered subdural hematoma, internal bleeding, multiple fractures to her pelvis, hips, sternum, humorous and both femurs, court records said.
An investigation headed by the traffic unit revealed furrow marks on the grass surface at the crash site. Police said the vehicle slid sideways and spun counter-clockwise before hitting the pole, which cut power to the surrounding neighborhoods for several hours.
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Cheeseman is currently free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
