Teenager Charged in Fatal North Strabane Crash

State police on Wednesday filed homicide-by-vehicle and other charges against a South Fayette teen in connection with a car accident in North Strabane last February.

Stormy Lynn Hunter, 18, of 241 Hickory Heights Drive, was arraigned before district Judge Jay Weller Thursday, and was also charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, DUI, reckless endangerment, among other traffic violations.

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 set Hunter’s bail at $100,000, which was posted Thursday. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Central Court.