A preliminary hearing for a woman accused of vehicular homicide while driving drunk in a May crash that killed two of her friends in Middlesex Township is set for next month.

Diane E. Read, 37, of Middlesex Township turned herself in Wednesday at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg. She was accompanied by her fiancé and attorney.

Haggerty arraigned Read on two felony counts each of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and homicide by vehicle. Additionally, she was arraigned on two counts of involuntary manslaughter and DUI, all misdemeanors, and three traffic violations.

Read was later released on $50,000 unsecured bail under the conditions that she cannot drive a vehicle or have alcohol in the house, and she must abstain from alcohol or drugs and submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

Haggerty also ordered the defendant be placed on pretrial supervision.

Middlesex Township police charged Read on Dec. 11 following a nearly seven-month investigation into the May 17 crash that claimed the lives of her passengers, Kimberly Young, 39, and Patricia Collins, 36, both friends of the defendant.

The three women were neighbors on Dwellington Drive. Police said they all had been at Read's home for a get-together where alcohol was consumed, police said, and they had just left the neighborhood in Read's family car around 12:10 a.m.

The defendant allegedly ran a stop sign at the intersection of Dwellington Drive and Route 8, and crashed into the front of the former CoGo's store, which was closed. No one was in the store.

Police said Young was pronounced dead at the scene. She was in the front passenger seat. Collins, who was unresponsive in the back seat, was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, where she was pronounced dead later that day.

Autopsies determined both passengers died of injuries in the wreck, according to court documents.

Read was taken to UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh with moderate injuries. She reportedly suffered a neck injury, broken leg bones and a punctured lung.

Toxicology reports indicated that her blood-alcohol level was 0.166% at the time of the crash. A level of 0.08% is considered intoxicated under state law.

The store has remained closed since the crash and it is being renovated under new ownership.

Read's preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 13 at Haggerty's office.

Her attorney, Casey White of Pittsburgh, declined comment on the charges Thursday, but he released a prepared statement on his client's behalf.

“Diane's immense sorrow likely pales in comparison to the grief that both the Collins and Young family suffer daily,” the statement said. “This is a type of tragedy that is difficult to put into words as two families are now forever changed by a heartbreaking accident.

“Kimberly and Patricia were not only neighbors of Diane, but they were her closest friends. She will always have those two and their families in the forefront of her thoughts and prayers.”