Arrest made in fiery crash
Police: Lord speeding, going wrong way in accident that badly injured passenger
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The alleged impaired driver of a vehicle that crashed into a building, caught fire and severely injured a passenger was arrested Tuesday, court documents stated.
Breanna M. Lord, 22, of Altoona, was arraigned Tuesday by Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on 13 charges, including felony counts of aggravated assault with attempts to cause serious bodily injury with extreme indifference and aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence.
A criminal complaint alleges Lord was driving a white Cadillac sedan that burst into flames after colliding with a building May 2 on the 700 block of 29th Street.
When police arrived on scene, a "significant portion" of the building's brick exterior collapsed onto and around the Cadillac, and first responders discovered fire and smoke billowing out of the vehicle's hood.
Police discovered Lord trapped in the driver's seat of the Cadillac, and officers said the front of the vehicle was nearly indistinguishable due to the damage.
Altoona firefighters arrived on scene moments later, and first responders discovered a second victim.
Both were extricated and transported to UPMC Altoona for "very serious injuries."
As a result of the collision, all of the victim's fingers were amputated, her right leg was amputated above the knee and her left leg was amputated below the knee. The victim also suffered substantial burns to a significant portion of her body, police stated.
As police investigated the accident, several witnesses reported that Lord was allegedly driving the wrong way at a high rate of speed on the 2900 block of Seventh Avenue near the eventual crash site.
Police said there was no evidence of any adverse road conditions, and officers also observed clear tire marks on the 2900 block of Seventh Avenue and a parallel sidewalk/parking lot to the north of Seventh Avenue.
Court documents state the tire marks aligned with the testimony from witnesses, and a state police trooper from the collision analysis and reconstruction unit responded to the scene.
Troopers said the tire marks did not show any indication of the vehicle attempting to stop before it struck the building.
After acquiring video surveillance of the accident from a local gas station, police observed the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed on the 3000 block of Seventh Avenue moments before the crash.
Police said they did not notice the vehicle's brake lights illuminate, adding that the vehicle was driving the wrong direction. Officers also did not notice any attempts to correct the course of the vehicle before the accident.
After obtaining a search warrant for the Cadillac, police allegedly discovered a glass smoking device, a propane torch and a bag containing 1.19 grams of marijuana.
A warrant was also executed for a toxicology report on Lord's blood, and the report allegedly yielded positive for morphine and THC, police said.
According to testimony from a friend of Lord and the victim, the two were seen consuming "three to four dabs" of THC wax at a residence in Duncansville hours before the collision.
When police interviewed Lord, she allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana the night before and that she drank "half a Seagrams."
Lord allegedly said she did not recall any portion of the drive after leaving the Duncansville residence.
While inspecting the vehicle, police allegedly found its tachometer and speedometer did not reset, noting the tachometer rested at 4K RPM and the speedometer read 85 mph.
During an interview in July with police, the victim admitted to smoking marijuana with Lord the night before and told officers that Lord was going "very fast," citing speeds as fast as 106 mph.
The victim allegedly asked Lord why she was going so fast and said she wanted out of the vehicle, but Lord allegedly drove over a curb in Duncansville and would accelerate after periods of slowing down.
Upon concluding the vehicle analysis and reconstruction, state troopers reported that Lord drove in the wrong direction on Seventh Avenue at a high rate of speed and eventually went partially airborne after hitting the side of a concrete driveway.
Lord's car then struck the corner of a parked Ford F-150 and collided with the building while the front end of the Cadillac was off the ground.
Troopers reported the vehicle rotated around the point of impact and traveled about 15 feet before it rebounded away from the wall of the house and came to a rest about 6 feet away.
Police concluded that Lord caused the accident due to her driving at a high rate of speed, traveling the wrong way down a one-way roadway and veering off the roadway into the side of a building.
Lord also faces charges of unlawful restraint, recklessly endangering another person, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless driving, careless driving, driving at an unsafe speed, disobedience to traffic control devices, driving the wrong way and disregarding traffic lanes, the docket stated.
She was remanded to Blair County Prison in lieu of $75,000 cash bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Dec. 15 before Jones.
Mirror Staff Writer Calem Illig is at 814-946-7535.