Sewickley Township woman charged in fatal crash

Dec. 23—A Sewickley Township woman is accused of being impaired when she crossed over the center line of Arona Road, slamming head-on into another vehicle and killing its driver, according to court records.

Ahna L. Malik, 43, was arrested last week on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, drug possession and related offenses. Police said she had methamphetamine, amphetamine and marijuana in her system.

The crash that killed Dawn E. Coyne, 57, of Madison, was reported March 7 around 11:20 a.m. A witness told police a Ford Focus being driven by Malik south on Arona Road in Hempfield tried to pass him and another motorist on the two-lane road.

Malik attempted to pass again around a bend when the car slammed into the Toyota Matrix that Coyne was driving northbound, according to court papers. Both women were taken by ambulances to hospitals.

When troopers retrieved insurance information from Malik's vehicle, they said they spotted suspected marijuana, pills, suspected crystal methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia inside. Hospital security reported to police additional drugs and paraphernalia that were found in Malik's purse.

Malik told investigators that she is familiar with Arona Road and claimed ownership of all of the drugs in the car. She denied being impaired at the time of the crash or attempting to pass other vehicles, according to the complaint.

Malik did not have a valid drivers license at the time. Police said in court papers that her license has been suspended for 19 of the 27 years Malik has been eligible to drive.

She was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $200,000 bail. She did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 27.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .