Mom tests positive for alcohol, opiates after flipping car with infant inside

PITTSBURGH,None — Ross Township police said a Brookline mother had a blood alcohol content of .209 and tested positive for opiates after crashing her car on Evergreen Road last week.

Catherine Ankney, 28, of Brookline crashed her car last Tuesday. Police said Ankney had her infant son in the car at the time of the crash.

Ankney and her son were treated and released from an area hospital.

"When you consider alcohol was a factor, it could have been a much worse outcome," said Ross Township Police Sgt. Benjamin Dripps.

Dripps said Ankney was traveling along Evergreen Road, near the intersection of Peoples Road, when she lost control and went airborne. Emergency responders said the car flipped on its roof while Ankney's young son was strapped in the back seat.

"It's fortunate the child was in a car seat. Had he not been, I don't think he would have survived the impact of the accident," said Dripps.

The mother and her child had to be cut from the wreckage. Police said they found several cans of beer inside of the car. Investigators said Ankney was disoriented and smelled of alcohol when medics arrived.

"I think it's disgusting that a woman, a mother with her child, would be intoxicated at seven in the morning. I think it speaks for itself," Dripps said. "We do anticipate that charges will be filed."

Ankney faces several charges including driving under the influence, endangering the welfare of children, careless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

WPXI