Former Pittsburgh medic charged in head-on East Carson Street crash that killed grandmother

PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh medic is facing charges for a crash that killed a new grandmother in March.

Pittsburgh police say Sydney Richardson was drunk while behind the wheel of a truck when she crossed the center line on East Carson Street causing the head-on crash that killed Mary Alice Bendick while she was on the way to Magee to meet her new grandson. Police say Richardson never applied her brakes before the crash.

>>> Grandmother killed in head-on crash on East Carson Street was driving to meet newborn grandson

Channel 11 spoke to Bendick’s daughter right after the crash.

“It just feels like a nightmare to see someone one second and talk to them, and get a call a few hours later, and they’re gone,” Shelby said.

When the crash happened in March, Channel 11 reported that Richardson had been drinking and that sources say she was a former city medic, who was fired for showing up to work drunk.

When Richardson was questioned by officers, detectives say she told them she only had two White Claws while out to lunch.

A blood test showed otherwise — and according to investigators, her alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.

Since March, Mary Alice’s daughter has been waiting for these charges — and to get justice for her mom.

“I want to get justice for her, and look this lady in the eye, and tell her to her face what she took not only from our family, but from my dad, and my brothers family, and her friends,” she said.

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