Crime & Safety

Police: Saxonburg Teen Was Texting Before Fatal Car Crash

As the Pennsylvania legislature mulls a ban on texting while driving, troopers said they believe Alexis Summers was texting at the wheel before her car hit a tree.

A 17-year-old Saxonburg girl was killed Tuesday evening after her car hit a tree along Hannastown Road in Jefferson Township.

State Police at Butler said Alexis Summers was behind the wheel of a 2003 Subaru Legacy about 10 p.m. when she drove off the right berm of the roadway and into a slight grass embankment. 

Troopers said she likely overcompensated while steering back onto the roadway. Her car spun clockwise and slid sideways into a tree on the driver’s side.

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Police said they believe Summers was texting at the wheel. A Butler County deputy coroner pronounced her dead at the scene. 

Pennsylvania is on the verge of passing a . A bill on the subject was approved by the state Senate on Tuesday. Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign the bill into law.

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