BY JULIE BENAMATI
PATTON — Borough police have filed criminal charges against a Hastings woman after tests confirmed she was under the influence of methadone and other drugs when she crashed head-on into another vehicle.
Megan Strasser, 22, of Mitchell Street, was charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless driving and operating a vehicle without required insurance.
Police Chief Vincent Leppert filed the charges at District Judge Michael Zungali’s office in Hastings.
Leppert responded to theOct. 2 crash on Magee Avenue, where Strasser’s four-door Chevrolet sedan had struck a Ford van operated by William Albright.
According to the complaint filed by Leppert, Strasser was traveling north on Route 36 when she “passed out or fell asleep” behind the wheel, crossed oncoming traffic and struck Albright’s vehicle.
Strasser was transported to Miners Medical Center in Hastings for treatment of her injuries.
Neither driver was seriously injured, Leppert said.
Leppert said that during an interview at the scene, Strasser admitted being dosed with methadone prior to driving.
Methadone is used to treat heroin addiction, and many patients “dose” at methadone clinics on an outpatient basis.
Tests showed Strasser tested negative for alcohol use, but positive for methadone and nordiazepam, a drug often prescribed to treat anxiety.
“As soon as (Strasser) crashed and we arrived on the scene, she told us she had taken methadone,” Leppert said.
“She told us she was on a legal prescription.”
Leppert said he did not immediately know if Strasser had obtained her dose at a methadone clinic or if she had been following a take-home regimen.
