The woman accused of using her car to kill a romantic rival on Route 28 last year said it was the victim who caused the fatal four-car pileup, according to a detective who interviewed her.

Testifying yesterday at a preliminary hearing for Jamie Upsher, Pittsburgh homicide Detective Joseph Meyers said Upsher told him that Timira Brown threatened her, sideswiped her and then rear-ended her, forcing her into oncoming traffic.

Brown, 25, and her 4-year-old son, Taymon, were killed Aug. 10 between the 31st Street Bridge and the DelMonte/Heinz plant when her southbound car crossed the center line and struck two oncoming vehicles.

Brown's daughter was injured, as were Upsher, her cousin and three people riding in other vehicles.

Police this month charged Upsher, 23, with homicide and other offenses, accusing her of striking Brown's car with her vehicle to kill Brown.

Both women had a months-long history of sometimes violent feuding that was sparked when they learned both were involved with the same man, an Allegheny County Jail inmate.

Eight witnesses testified yesterday. A key witness, Officer Daniel Connolly, will appear Monday in City Court to detail his unit's reconstruction of the accident.

Meyers said he interviewed Upsher twice: briefly at the hospital on Aug. 13 and the next day at her East Liberty home, when she gave a more detailed version of events.

Both times, Meyers testified, Upsher said she had been on her way from East Liberty to the North Side in her 1993 Chevrolet Lumina when her cousin, April Johnson, noticed Brown sitting in her station wagon at a traffic light on the 40th Street Bridge.

Meyers said Upsher told him she turned onto Route 28 in the curb lane, while Brown stayed in the passing lane. Upsher said Brown slowed her car just after the 31st Street Bridge and screamed death threats at her. Then, Brown sideswiped her twice. Upsher told police she managed to slip into the passing lane in front of Brown, Meyers said.

Then, Meyers testified, Upsher said Brown rammed her so hard from behind that she lost control and crossed the center line.

Upsher's attorney, Lee Rothman, entered a not guilty plea for his client. She is charged with homicide, homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault, simple assault and several traffic infractions.

In a statement to the court, Rothman revealed that Timira Brown was in possession of two baggies of marijuana at the time of the crash. Rothman said Brown's blood was not tested for the presence of marijuana. He also noted that the coroner's office has listed Brown's manner of death as "pending investigation" instead of "homicide."

Among those who testified yesterday were the other car crash victims, with the exception of Upsher's cousin, and witnesses who were on the road that day.

Some said the vehicles were neck and neck, while others said one was in front of the other.

Also testifying was Wayne Williams, the inmate over whom Brown and Upsher had feuded. He described Brown as his fiancee and Upsher as a friend.

While in jail on drug charges in May, Williams engineered a three-way call among himself, Brown and Upsher. In the police affidavit, detectives quoted a recording of the conversation in which they said Upsher threatened Brown.

The tape was played in court yesterday. The snippet of conversation begins between Williams and Brown. Then Upsher is called, and Williams speaks with her. It is unclear whether Upsher knew Brown was on the line listening. At one point, as Williams and Upsher argue over why Upsher is pressing charges against Brown for allegedly vandalizing her car, Upsher said, "That's why you get killed ... "

Williams testified that he believed Upsher's threat was directed at him, not Brown.

After the hearing, Brown's mother, Beverly Brown of Columbus, Ohio, said, "My daughter never would've risked her babies' lives in the car."

Rothman told reporters: "Who caused this accident may never be known."

First Published: February 28, 2004, 5:00 a.m.