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Police: Crash That Killed City Man Was Deliberate
Pittsburgh police not releasing details of wreck that killed three, including driver
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
December 06, 2021
Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man deliberately crashed his car into a building on Pittsburgh’s North Side, killing himself and two other people, officials have ruled.
But Pittsburgh police will not release an accident report or any additional information on how they determined that Ronald K. Morgan, 50, of McKeesport was committing suicide on June 12, when his car left Western Avenue and collided with the Biomat USA plasma center.
Two women who were working inside the building — Laura E. Meneskie, 35, of Pittsburgh, and Parveena B. Abdul, 55, of Clairton — were pronounced dead at the scene.
On Thursday, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office ruled Morgan’s death was a suicide, and the deaths of Meneskie and Abdul were homicides.
As many as 10 employees were in the building, along with five plasma donors, at the time of the crash. The wreck caused a two-alarm fire that sent multiple people to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a Pittsburgh paramedic and two firefighters.
Autopsies determined that Meneskie and Abdul died of traumatic injuries sustained in the wreck, the medical examiner's office said, while Morgan died of heat and smoke inhalation injuries.
Pittsburgh police issued a terse statement saying that “as the driver died as a result of the collision, no charges can be sought in this case.”
Until Thursday, police had not acknowledged that Morgan was the driver.
Witnesses said that Morgan’s vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz would not say how investigators determined that the crash was deliberate rather than the result of a medical emergency or mechanical failure.
“Both the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office and the Collision Investigation Unit conducted their autopsy and investigation respectively,” she told The Almanac. “If you would like the exact details of their findings, then I suggest you file a right to know request.”
Under Pennsylvania state law, police agencies are only required to provide copies of crash reports to persons involved in the crash, their attorneys, their insurance companies, or other government agencies.
According to their obituaries, Abdul left behind brothers and sisters, and was buried in California, while Meneskie left behind her parents, a sister, step-sisters and her girlfriend.
Morgan was survived by his wife, four children and four step-children, and brothers and sisters.
Originally published December 06, 2021.
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