A Pittsburgh woman faces charges after police say she was speeding on Route 28 while high on marijuana and with her 3-year-old daughter in the back seat of the car.
State police charged Mary Kate Slattery, 35, with felony counts of endangering the welfare of children and carrying a firearm without a license, misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person, possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use and driving under the influence, as well as six summary traffic offenses.
A preliminary hearing for Slattery is scheduled for Jan. 8 before District Judge David Sosovicka.
A state trooper was monitoring traffic Saturday afternoon along Route 28 south in Harmar when he clocked a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee going 87 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to court documents.
While initiating the traffic stop, the trooper observed the driver, Slattery, “to have a delayed reaction” to emergency lights and sirens. When coming to a stop, the car stopped while still in the right travel lane, police wrote in court papers.
During the traffic stop, police detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from Slattery’s car. Police also noticed a young girl in the back seat, whom Slattery identified as her daughter.
The girl was not seated in an appropriate child seat, police said. Slattery told police she had a booster seat in the car for the child, but she did not put her daughter in it “because there was a dirty mark on it,” police wrote.
Slattery did not have a medical marijuana card, police said. She told police she had last smoked the day before and there was a “roach” in the vehicle.
During field sobriety testing, Slattery “displayed multiple indicators of impairment,” and police arrested her on suspicion of DUI. Police found a burnt marijuana roach in the car, a small amount of marijuana in a plastic bag and an additional marijuana roach in the car.
A handgun was found on the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Police said Slattery was the owner of the firearm, but she did not possess a concealed carry permit.
