October 12, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A West Mifflin man was seriously injured Sunday morning after the car which he was driving left West Fifth Avenue in the city’s 10th Ward and landed upside down on the railroad tracks.
Joseph E. Gault, 47, had to be extricated from the car by firefighters and paramedics and was taken by ambulance to UPMC Mercy Hospital, Uptown, McKeesport police said.
According to a report, Gault’s car was traveling east toward Downtown when his car left the road at Rebecca Street, crashed through a metal railing and landed on the CSX Railroad tracks.
Minutes earlier, according to police, a Glassport officer had attempted to stop a silver Toyota sedan in that borough, but the driver, later identified by police as Gault, fled the scene.
Following a brief pursuit, the Glassport officer lost sight of the vehicle near the Mansfield Bridge, according to a report. Police discovered Gault’s wrecked car a short time later, according to a report.
The incident is under investigation, police said.
September 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
BREAKING: This is a developing story and will be updated. It is subject to change.
Updated with statements from Serra Catholic High School, Bishop David Zubik and State Sen. Jim Brewster.
A 15-year-old student from Serra Catholic High School died Wednesday morning following a crash in Dravosburg, emergency personnel said.
Samantha Lee Kalkbrenner of Dravosburg was pronounced dead at the scene just before 8 a.m., the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said. She was a passenger in a school van operated by Serra that collided with a car at the intersection of Richland and Third avenues, witnesses said.
Three other students and the drivers of the van and the car also were injured, officials said.
All school activities were cancelled Wednesday and remain cancelled through Sunday, the high school announced on Wednesday afternoon. Teachers will be available on the school’s Haler Heights campus on Thursday to counsel students who are grieving, a spokesperson said.
A prayer service on campus is being planned at 7 p.m. Thursday. All are welcome to attend, the school said.
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September 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Duquesne man died Tuesday morning after being struck by a tri-axle dump truck in Wilmerding, Allegheny County police said.
The medical examiner’s office said Jerome Prysock, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene just after 5 a.m.
The accident happened before sunrise. County police said Pitcairn police were dispatched to the area of the Tri-Boro Expressway just above Maple Avenue and that the driver of the truck, who was not identified, remained with the victim.
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September 19, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
Family and friends of Quanisha Ball, 31, want her death to bring more awareness to the need for pedestrian safety. Ball’s mother, Courtney Thompkins, has distributed flyers near the intersection in DeKalb County, Ga., where her daughter died. (Photo left, courtesy Thompkins family; at right, Dan Whisenhunt photo for Decaturish)
A McKeesport woman has organized a walk on Wednesday (Sept. 20) to bring attention to her daughter’s death while crossing the street in Georgia.
More than 100 family members and friends will gather at 10 a.m. at the trailhead for the Great Allegheny Passage under the Boston Bridge in Elizabeth Twp. in memory of Quanisha Ball, 31, and then walk two miles.
That’s the distance, her mother alleges, that the driver who struck Ball continued on his way before returning to the accident scene outside of Atlanta.
The driver was never charged. Wednesday would have been Ball’s 32nd birthday, said her mother, Courtney Thompkins.
“It’s the first birthday since my baby isn’t here,” Thompkins said. “Quanisha was an amazing sister, daughter, a leader and we all admired her 31 years on this earth. And we miss her so much.”
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September 17, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
A Monroeville woman died Saturday following a two-car crash on Route 30 in North Versailles Twp.
Darlene Fairfull, 78, was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital emergency room less than an hour after the accident, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said.
In a prepared statement, the Allegheny County police homicide unit said a Buick Verano collided with a Subaru Imprezza in the 1400 block of Lincoln Highway, near the intersection with Broad Street.
The driver of the Subaru, later identified as Fairfull, was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. The driver of the Buick, a woman whose name was not released, was treated at the scene, police said.
Accident reconstruction experts from the county police are investigating.
Route 30 was closed between Luehm Avenue and Broad Street for approximately three hours, North Versailles police announced on social media.
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the Allegheny County police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
September 07, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A man wanted in connection with the killing of a well-known Pittsburgh business owner following a football game in Clairton was arrested in McKeesport following a brief standoff.
Allegheny County police said Edwin Gregory Wylie-Biggs, 42, of Clairton was hiding inside a residence on Strawberry Alley, Downtown, and refused to surrender to officers who had a warrant for his arrest.
The Allegheny County police special weapons and tactics team was called to the scene and Wylie-Biggs surrendered without further incident, police said.
Wylie-Biggs is the suspect in the Aug. 25 shooting of Victor G. Musgrove Sr., 51, of Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood. Police said Musgrove attended a football game between Clairton High School and Westinghouse High School, and afterward, visited the Village Inn tavern on Miller Avenue in Clairton.
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September 07, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man is charged with homicide in connection with a fatal shooting Wednesday night at a home on Flagler Street. Robbery appears to have been the motive, detectives said.
The victim, Reginald A. Hall, 48, was shot in the torso and left leg just after 10 p.m. and died a short time later in the emergency room at UPMC McKeesport hospital, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Jeffrey W. Robinson, 53, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond pending a preliminary hearing at 8 a.m. Sept. 22 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
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September 06, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man accused of shooting his girlfriend and then keeping police at bay during an hours-long standoff is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing.
Michael P. Plopi, 42, of Pirl Street is charged by Allegheny County police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the incident, which began Monday evening and continued into the early hours Tuesday morning.
Plopi faces a hearing Sept. 18 before Magisterial District Justice Eugene Riazzi. He was denied bail Tuesday following arraignment by Magisterial District Judge Jehosha Wright.
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September 05, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
This is a developing story and is subject to change
A city man is in custody after an hours-long standoff with police at his home on Pirl Street.
Michael P. Plopi, 42, is charged by Allegheny County police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm and was awaiting arraignment on Tuesday morning, court officials said.
Plopi surrended to police early Tuesday morning following a standoff that began about 7:30 p.m. Monday after officers allege that he shot his girlfriend during an argument, then fired on first responders who were called to the scene. The victim's name has not yet been released by police.
Emergency personnel said McKeesport police were dispatched to Plopi's home in the 1200 block of Pirl Street near Versailles Avenue on Monday evening after a ShotSpotter device detected gunshots in the area.
Police arrived to find a woman outside of a home, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers came to her aid, police said, only to have someone inside the house begin firing at them. Officers pulled the woman to safety and she was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital. Her condition was not immediately available but she was said to be “conscious and alert” at the scene.
Emergency responders said the victim suffered wounds to her leg, hands and torso.
Plopi is accused of barricading himself in the house with another person and refusing to come outside, police said.
The Allegheny County police special weapons and tactics team responded along with police from surrounding jurisdictions, emergency personnel said. Police determined that the suspect in the shooting was barricaded inside the home with another adult.
After repeated calls for the suspect to surrender went unanswered, witnesses said SWAT officers used smoke grenades, tear gas and so-called “flash-bang” devices to force the shooter to surrender.
Dozens of police officers were present on the scene, including law enforcement from surrounding municipalities as well as county police and state troopers.
Versailles Avenue was closed for several blocks around the shooting scene. Residents were asked to avoid the area if at all possible.
Police said Plopi surrendered at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday.
August 30, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
A Turtle Creek woman faces formal arraignment in Allegheny County Court after being accused of threatening the life of a district magistrate in Duquesne.
Rose Ann Kardell, 58, remains in the Allegheny County Jail pending the Sept. 29 hearing.
Kardell was charged July 20 by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office with threatening harm against a public official, stalking, disorderly conduct and harassment after Magisterial District Judge Scott Schricker in Duquesne began receiving threatening text messages on his personal cell phone.
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