A Natrona Heights man, 65-year-old Jeffrey Glowatski, has been formally charged with driving under the influence after he hit and killed an 11-year-old girl named Roxanne Bonnoni last August in Harrison Township. According to a WPXI report, Glowatski had consumed 12 beers on the day of the fatal incident and had a blood alcohol level nearly double the legal limit at the time of the crash.
The collision occurred as Bonnoni was crossing the road near her home. A WTAE coverage reveals that she was born with mild to moderate hearing loss and was preparing to start the sixth grade at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. "She did camp there this summer and she was excited for her transition. She was going to do cheerleading and soccer," Roxanne's mother recounted to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 in an emotional interview.
It has been reported that on the day of the accident, Glowatski was seen leaving a bar just minutes before Bonnoni was struck around 7:20 p.m. The criminal complaint notes that when Glowatski was interacting with police at the scene, he exhibited slurred speech and delayed responses to questions, refusing both a standardized field sobriety test and chemical testing. Authorities obtained a search warrant for a blood draw that confirmed a blood ethanol level of 0.153%, as stated in the same WTAE report.
Glowatski has been issued a summons but is not currently held in jail. The case continues to develop as the community and the Bonnoni family await the proceedings and, potentially, a sense of justice for the life cut tragically short.
