Courts.
An Ottsville woman who caused a multi-vehicle crash in Montgomeryville with a stolen vehicle that sent one person to the hospital with injuries pleaded guilty July 10 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to a third misdemeanor DUI offense and was sentenced to 10 days to two years in jail.
Jamie Helen Potts, 29, also pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property, per court records, and received five years’ probation by Common Pleas Judge Steven T. O’Neill.
Misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, accidents involving injury while unlicensed were dropped, as were summary offenses of driving with a suspended license and reckless driving, per court records.
Furthermore, Potts’ driver’s license is suspended, and she must pay a $200 fine, per court documents.
Police were dispatched to the area of Bethlehem Pike and Hartman Road around 5 p.m. July 13 for a report of a four-vehicle crash with injuries. Arriving officers located a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu — driven by Potts — with disabling frontend damage, as well as a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado with disabling rearend damage and two other vehicles with minor damage, according to police.
When asked what happened, Potts provided police with several different stories, initially saying she hit the Silverado accidentally because the light kept going from “green to blue, green and red.”
She then changed her account of events, saying she “had the heat on” but was trying to turn the air on because it was too hot, and ultimately struck the truck because she wasn’t paying attention, according to charging documents.
Potts estimated she was traveling at 45 to 50 miles per hour at the time of the crash, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators said Potts had slurred speech, a staggered gait, and pinpoint pupils, along with “track marks” on her arm from injecting drugs and a fresh injection mark on her left arm.
The report states Potts declined medical attention for a minor abrasion on the left side of her face, and the driver of the truck was transported from the scene via ambulance for treatment of undisclosed injuries at an area hospital.
Potts became defiant when asked to participate in a series of field sobriety tests, and she was taken into custody for suspicion of DUI without conducting the tests. Potts also declined to have her blood taken for chemical testing, according to the complaint.
Potts’ vehicle was towed from the scene to a secure impound lot and a search warrant was executed the following day, which uncovered multiple packets of heroin/fentanyl along with needles and other drug paraphernalia from her purse inside of the vehicle, police said.
Additionally, Information was later provided to investigators indicating the vehicle Potts was driving had been stolen from outside of a business in Bucks County, police said.
Potts was represented by attorney Thomas Logan.
