Woman recovering after Saratoga Springs crash with alleged drunk driver

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A local family is raising money to pay for medical expenses after a car crash, caused by an alleged drunk driver in Saratoga Springs, left their daughter seriously injured.

Brittany Chase, 23, from Greenfield, was driving her car on June 7 with her friend, April Molina, 22, from Saratoga Springs, when Lucian Dublea, 40, of Troy, slammed into her car in a head-on collision on Route 50 near Leonards Road, police said.

The city Police Department responded to the accident at about 7:45 p.m. An investigation showed that at the time of the accident Dublea’s vehicle, a black 2008 Honda Accord, was headed south on Route 50.

Dublea drifted off the right side of the road and careened off a guide rail, police said.

The car then rebounded over the double yellow center line and into the northbound lanes of travel, colliding head on with Chase’s 2014 Chevy Cruz, police said.

All three were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital. Dublea and Chase were flown by helicopter, while Molina was transported by ambulance. Molina has since been released, according to a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Chase’s recovery.

According to a note written by Sue Chase, Brittany’s mother, on the fundraising page, her daughter and Molina were returning home after a day of hiking when their car was hit.

Chase suffered multiple injuries from the crash, including swelling and a bruise on her brain, a broken femur, a fractured hip and pelvic bone, fractured ribs, bruising and fractures on her spine, a lacerated liver, a broken ankle and multiple fractures in her foot.

But since the accident, Chase has been on the road to recovery, said her mother,

According to the GoFundMe page, she has undergone a surgery to repair her femur and her pelvic and hip bone.

On Monday, she underwent surgery for her foot and when she recovers from that, she will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she may have to stay three or more months while she learns to walk again.

“She is trying to maintain a positive attitude and fights through the pain everyday. We are very touched by all of the people who have reached out to us, and we would like to thank everyone for their compassion and support,” Sue Chase said on the GoFundMe page.

The campaign is seeking to raise $1,500. As of Wednesday afternoon, $670 had been raised.

The Chases could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

After the crash, Dublea was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and failure to keep right. On Wednesday Saratoga Springs police spokesman Lt. Bob Jillson confirmed that an investigator was still assigned to the case but that there had not been any developments.

“There have been no additional charges I know of as of yet,” he said.

Dublea is due back in Saratoga Springs City Court on June 26 at 9 a.m., according to a court clerk.