Brackenridge man accused of speeding while high with 2 kids in the car, trying to elude arrest


State police accused a Brackenridge man of smoking pot while he was driving with two kids in the car and then trying to elude arrest when a trooper clocked him going 90 mph on Route 28 in Harmar.

Altamese Kharon Thompson, 29, was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children and a count of fleeing from police, which are all felonies. He also faces six misdemeanor charges and 27 traffic citations that include driving with a suspended license, speeding and reckless driving.

Thompson was being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond to await a preliminary hearing before District Judge David Sosovicka
on Monday.

A state trooper wrote in a criminal complaint that he was monitoring traffic along Route 28 on Oct. 25 when a Kia Rio was clocked by radar going 90 mph in a 55 mph zone.

The trooper followed the Kia as it exited at RIDC Park in Harmar and followed as it sped through the industrial park and drove through a
pedestrian walkway and onto Freeport Road, the complaint said. The road from RIDC Park down to Freeport Road is steep and has several sharp curves.

The chase ended on Freeport Road in Blawnox after Thompson’s vehicle became partially disabled,
police said.

The trooper said there were two juveniles in the vehicle and he could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana. Thompson allowed the trooper to search the car, where they found a pack of cigar wrappers and several packages of marijuana, the complaint said.

Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .


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