The driver of a car that slammed into a utility pole in Forest Hills last month, killing three people and injuring a 4-year-old girl, faces six counts of vehicular homicide and other charges after she told a nurse she used heroin the night of the crash.

Kellyanne Strouse, 19, of Altoona, also was charged last night with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, driving under the influence, reckless driving and speeding in connection to the Aug. 4 crash.

Ms. Strouse was driving east on Ardmore Boulevard when she lost control of her sedan, slid across the eastbound lanes, onto the median and into the utility pole, according to a police affidavit.

Police said she was traveling between 62 and 68 miles per hour, in a stretch of roadway with a 40 mph speed limit.

The impact nearly split the car in half, and emergency personnel had to extricate the passengers by removing the car's roof and doors.

Killed were Samuel McCoy, 27, of Altoona; Matthew J. Stojakovich, 25, of North Huntingdon; and Jennifer Smith, 26, of Johnstown. Ms. Smith's 4-year-old daughter, whom witnesses found crying in a rear car seat, suffered a broken leg and arm and shoulder injuries.

Blood tests taken from Ms. Strouse tested positive for opiates, and she told police she was a "recovering heroin addict and had recently relapsed into the use of heroin," the affidavit said. She also told a nurse she used heroin earlier in the day and "believed it to be laced with something else," and "admitted to consuming a few pills of an unknown substance" earlier that day, the complaint said.