A Montgomery Township woman is facing charges of child endangerment and DUI following an incident that occurred in late September.
According to the complaint, Montgomery Township Police were patrolling the area of Knapp Road and Dekalb Pike on Sept. 21 at 10:04 p.m. when a vehicle allegedly made an illegal pass from the left turning lane and continued past the police vehicle which was stopped at the intersection, the report states. Police said the vehicle passed very close to their vehicle, and never slowed down.
Police switched on their emergency lights and siren, and followed the vehicle at a high rate of speed down Bell Run Boulevard to Kenwood Drive, where the vehicle nearly struck two pedestrians who were attempting to cross the road, the report states. Police then located the vehicle parked in front of a home along the 1300 block of Kenwood Drive, and noted that the vehicle was parked at an angle facing the curb, rather than perpendicular, according to the complaint.
As police approached the vehicle, they observed a dog in the front passenger seat and a two-year-old boy buckled into a car seat, the report states. The boy’s mother, identified as 24-year-old Emily Patterson, came out from the doorway to the house and identified herself as the driver of the vehicle, police said.
The report states that Patterson was wide-eyed and nervous, with sweat beading on her forehead. Police said they could smell alcohol on Patterson’s breath, and she allegedly admitted to having a few drinks but added that she was not driving drunk. The report states that clues of impairment were observed during a field sobriety test, and Patterson was given a preliminary breath test which indicated a positive result for alcohol.
Patterson was then taken into custody, where she consented to a blood test, the report states.
Several weeks later, police received the results of the blood test, which allegedly showed that Patterson had a blood-alcohol content of .159-percent and was also under the influence of marijuana at the time of the blood test.
As a result of the incident, Patterson has been charged with misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and DUI – combination of alcohol and drugs, as well as summary counts of obedience to traffic control devices and careless driving.
The charges against Patterson were filed via summons, meaning she has not had a preliminary arraignment and no booking image is available. Her first court appearance will be a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy on Dec. 4 at 1:15 p.m.
(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
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