A 45-year-old Allegheny Township woman is dead after she crashed her car into a tree Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office identified the driver as Sarah Bowser of Gene Drive. She died at the scene as the result of blunt force trauma. Her death was ruled accidental.
Township Police Chief Duane Fisher said officers were dispatched for a vehicle into a tree around 2:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of Garvers Ferry Road.
Officers were told one person was unresponsive and another was entrapped.
Fisher said when police arrived the passenger, identified as a 19-year-old township woman, had freed herself. She was transported to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with what appeared to be minor injuries. The chief said she was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The coroner’s report also indicated speed and weather conditions may have been a factor in the crash. Cell phone use is not believed to have been a factor. The coroner said Bowser was not wearing a seat belt.
Witnesses told police the driver appeared to have over compensated after losing control of her vehicle, which was traveling northbound from Lower Burrell, according to the chief.
Garvers Ferry Road was closed from Alter Road to Dairy Farm Road until around 6 p.m.
