Woman evades police with 6-month-old in car; now in custody
LOWER TYRONE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - What started as a welfare check throughout Westmoreland and Fayette counties Saturday ended with Pennsylvania State Police arresting a woman more than three hours later after she fled police with a 6-month-old child in the back of her car.
Matt Travelena lives about a mile from where the incident ended in Lower Tyrone Township. He watched as Pa. State Police cars lined up one by one on Banning Road.
"I seen them put somebody into the back of the cop car," Travelena said.
It was around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, but state police told KDKA it all started just before 3 p.m. nearby.
According to the police report, dispatchers got a call for a woman passed out with an infant in a Hyundai near Dawson Scottdale Road. When troopers checked the area, the car was gone and put out a request to be on the lookout.
Police told KDKA they determined the owner of the vehicle, who may have been the operator, had multiple bench warrants from Westmoreland County. The driver eventually was identified as 31-year-old Nichole Snyder.
Troopers from Uniontown, Belle Vernon, and Greensburg barracks responded, coming across the vehicle multiple times, through Vanderbilt, Mount Pleasant, Scottdale, and Dawson. They tried to stop Snyder but didn't start a chase as Snyder fled each time.
At one point on State Route 819, an officer positioned his car across the road, and Snyder drove around it on the grass.
"Sirens were blaring and, you know, several police cars [with] full lights on," Travelena said.
Eventually, they deployed spike strips, deflating all four tires. She still turned onto Banning Road where police tapped the rear of the car, causing it to spin and stop.
"You're not going to outrun the police. You're not going to get away from them," Travelena said.
A 6-month-old child was in the backseat, now with its father.
Snyder remains in jail on multiple charges, including fleeing an officer, recklessly endangering another person, and endangering the welfare of a child.
"You never want to see anything happen with a kid involved, no matter what it is," Travelena said.
Court documents reveal Synder has a past criminal history that includes drug possession. Sources told KDKA Snyder did not appear intoxicated or high when police took her into custody.
She's currently in Westmoreland County Jail due to those bench warrants.
