Philipsburg woman accused of abandoning child in vehicle waives hearing

Jennifer Elizabeth Smith, 28, of Philipsburg, who is accused of abandoning a child following a vehicle crash waived her right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge James Glass Wednesday at Centralized Court.

Smith is charged with endangering the welfare of children — felony of the second degree and 15 summary traffic violations including leaving child unattended in vehicle, operating vehicle without insurance, failure to carry registration, violate hazard regulation, failure to carry license, and careless driving.

She remains incarcerated in the Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $75,000 monetary bail. She waived her right to an attorney at the preliminary hearing stage.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on July 16, a state trooper began following a Chevrolet Suburban traveling south on Old Erie Pike.

The Suburban was traveling at a high rate of speed and was pulling away from the trooper who was traveling at 75 miles-per-hour. The road has a posted speed limit of 35 mph.

The trooper observed the vehicle spin out and get stuck in a ditch in Boggs Township. The trooper then activated the emergency lights and exited the patrol vehicle to check on the status of the occupants.

When the trooper got out, he said he could hear people running through the woods.

In the back seat of the vehicle was a 5-year-old child. The child was in a booster seat but wasn’t fully secured.

The trooper yelled into the woods stating his name and that he was a state trooper.

The child told the trooper he was in the vehicle with Ryan Smith, 32, of Philipsburg, and Jennifer Elizabeth Smith.

The child said Jennifer Smith was driving and after the vehicle spun out and got stuck, they both got out and ran into the woods.

The trooper observed a smoking pipe and a small plastic bag of illegal drugs in the center console of the vehicle.

The pair never returned to the vehicle.

Smith is charged with endangering the welfare of children — felony of the second degree; possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia — ungraded misdemeanors; and the summary offenses of leaving child unattended in vehicle and depositing waste on highway. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing last week. He remains incarcerated in CCJ in lieu of $75,000 monetary bail.

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