The girl's father, Richard Benton, 53, slurred his speech and smelled of alcohol at the scene of the crash on Schenley Manor Drive, according to the criminal complaint police filed when charging him with drunken driving. Shamera enjoyed using the computer and making plans with friends on Facebook -- like the ones she made Sunday night to see a new Kevin Hart movie at the Waterworks Mall with a group of friends. Ms. Harris said she did not realize Mr. Benton had been drinking and that she would not have gotten in the car -- let alone permitted children to ride in it -- if she had suspected he was drunk. They got in a black Ford Explorer to pick up Shamera Harris and drop off one of her friends at a home on Schenley Manor Drive in Stanton Heights. Benton was “messing around with the gear shifter” just before Shamera stepped out of the car, police said Harris told them. Teachers at Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 School said through Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh that Shamera was “a quiet, pleasant young lady who always followed the rules in every one of her classrooms.” The school was closed because of a power outage, but counselors will be available on Tuesday, Pugh said. One relative, Jacquet Bazemore, 63, of Highland Park, pointed to a pair of fading photographs on top of the family's television. Ms. Harris said she had been told that she would never have children, then at age 40, she had Shamera, her only child. When Ms. Harris, 52, of East Liberty returned home, she said Mr. Benton, who she did not realize had been drinking, volunteered to drive. Now I'll see them cross and not my baby girl.” 
 
 Officers said Benton refused field and chemical sobriety tests. He was released from Allegheny County Jail midday under conditions that he report to court at 10 a.m. Tuesday and participate in a substance-abuse treatment program. After consulting with the Allegheny County district attorney's office, police charged Mr. Benton with driving under the influence and took him to UPMC Mercy for treatment of minor injuries before he went to the Allegheny County Jail.
– A 12-year-old Pittsburgh girl died on her first date last night when her father's car dragged her about 50 feet and slammed into a tree, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. The girl, Shamera Harris, got out of her father's SUV so her parents could snap a photo of her and her date, but the vehicle began rolling backwards. Shamera's dad, 53-year-old Richard Benton, was "messing around with the gear shifter" before exiting the vehicle, according to the girl's mom, Carla Harris. "He thought the vehicle was in park," said a police sergeant. "In fact, it must have been out of gear and went over her, dragging her down the hill and then crashing into a yard." Shamera's parents had picked up her and her date at Waterworks Mall and drove them back to the boy's place when tragedy struck. Paramedics arrived and tried to resuscitate the girl but she "wasn't moving," a neighbor told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Police say Benton, who was charged with a DUI, smelled of booze and had "slurred speech and glassy, watery eyes." He refused a field sobriety test on the scene and a chemical test of his breath while in custody, and asked to see an attorney. "If there's reason to believe he's responsible for this girl's death, then there will be charges," said a lieutenant. "It's one of those things where you have to wait and see."