Teenage Girl Held For Trial in Fatal North Strabane Accident on I-79

sat silent and motionless throughout her preliminary hearing Wednesday, when district Judge Curtis Thompson held her for trial on homicide by vehicle and other charges related to a double fatal car accident on Interstate 79 in North Strabane this past February.

Hunter, 18, of South Fayette Township, will also stand trial on two charges each of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle and driving under the influence.

Thompson dismissed five counts of reckless driving, saying that they were redundant.

The ruling came after a nearly two-hour hearing, when Thompson listened to testimony from a forensic pathologist and three state troopers.

A muffled sob could be heard in the courtroom as the the pathologist went through the injuries suffered by two of the victims, Nickolas Mercolini and Alex Mercolini. Both men, the doctor said, suffered trauma to the head and torso after being ejected from the vehicle in which they were driving.

State troopers testified that while Hunter did not satisfactorily complete field sobriety tests given at the scene—she raised her arms slightly to regain her balance, which isn’t permitted—but that she did not appear to be intoxicated to the point where she could not safely operate the vehicle.

The troopers said it was around 5 a.m. when the accident occurred that day, and that the teenager was likely tired, which they said may have impaired her ability as well.

A third state trooper testified as an expert witness in the field of accident reconstruction, and confirmed that none of the four people riding in the Mercolini vehicle were wearing seat belts.

He also said he believed the accident was caused when Hunter rear-ended the Mercolini vehicle while traveling at a high rate of speed.

The trooper indicated he believed it was “physically impossible based on the evidence” for the Mercolini vehicle to have drifted into Hunter’s lane of traffic, as she had told police.

State police filed charges against Hunter last week and she was arraigned before district Judge Jay Weller.

Police said Hunter’s blood-alcohol level was .064 when the vehicle she was driving on Interstate 79 near the Houston exit crashed into one operated by Nickolas Mercolini. The legal limit for drivers under the age of 21 is .02.

According to the criminal complaint, Mercolini was traveling in the right lane when his vehicle was struck in the rear by one driven by Hunter.

“After the violent impact, Mercolini’s vehicle began to spin out of control, at which point it exited the roadway on the right side and traveled up a grassy embankment before coming to rest upside down on its roof, partially supported by the guardrail,” the complaint indicated.

Nickolas Mercolini, 65, and Alex Mercolini Jr., 78, both of Pittsburgh, were ejected from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers in the vehicle—Catherine Mercolini, 57, and Linda Mercolini, 64, were flown to Allegheny General and Mercy Hospital for treatment.

Hunter told state troopers at the scene that she and a passenger were on their way home from a party in West Virginia and that she wasn’t paying attention when the other car drifted into her lane and the crash happened. Hunter also told state troopers that she “slammed on the breaks in an attempt to avoid the crash, according to the complaint.

When speaking to her, police said they smelled a strong odor of alcohol, and subjected the teenager to a field sobriety test. She was taken to Washington Hospital, where a blood test revealed that she was under the influence of alcohol.

Court documents reveal that a search warrant on Hunter’s vehicle was issued by district Judge David Mark, and that police seized its Sensing Diagnostic Model. Police said it revealed a speed of 92 mph just before impact.

Weller had set Hunter’s bail at $100,000, which was posted.

Hunter is represented by Pittsburgh attorney Daniel Brian Hargrove. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Mike Lucas.