TM(Advertisement)
Tube City Community Media Inc. is seeking freelance writers to help cover city council, news and feature stories in McKeesport, Duquesne, White Oak and the neighboring communities. High school and college students seeking work experience are encouraged to apply; we are willing to work with students who need credit toward class assignments. Please send cover letter, resume, two writing samples and the name of a reference (an employer, supervisor, teacher, etc. -- not a relative) to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
Ads start at $1 per day, minimum seven days.
Police: Driver in Fatal Wreck Topped 90 MPH
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
August 18, 2022
Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
A Glassport man accused of causing a fatal car wreck in North Versailles Twp. in March was driving at speeds above 90 mph just before the crash, police said.
Allegheny County police allege that Shamar A. Roach, 24, also was legally intoxicated and driving under the influence of marijuana before the collision on March 2 that fatally injured John D. Semenko, 59, of White Oak.
Police said Roach was arrested Monday without incident after surrendering to officers. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond pending an Aug. 26 hearing before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
In a criminal complaint filed in Allegheny County night court, county investigators allege that Roach was driving a rented 2019 Dodge minivan that collided with a truck driven by Semenko near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Congress Street just before 11 p.m.
The minivan was traveling south, away from East McKeesport, at the time of the crash, police said.
Roach and a passenger were taken by ambulance to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for treatment, police said.
According to the complaint, Roach’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit for driving, and samples of his blood that were drawn at the hospital tested positive for marijuana.
Semenko also was taken to AHN Forbes Hospital where he was pronounced dead of traumatic injuries sustained in the wreck, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said.
According to the complaint, surveillance video obtained from two local businesses showed the minivan traveling at a high rate of speed shortly before the accident and crossing through a solid red traffic signal at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Route 30 in East McKeesport.
Police said the minivan’s on-board airbag control computer recorded speeds of 82, 92 and 95 mph just before it struck Semenko’s truck. According to the complaint, just five seconds before the crash, the airbag computer reported that the minivan’s throttle was at 100 percent — the accelerator was floored.
According to the complaint, investigators interviewed two witnesses, one of whom told officers that the minivan passed her vehicle on Fifth Avenue at a high rate of speed, nearly forcing her off the road, and that “she thought she was going to die.”
A moment later, she saw the minivan collide with Semenko’s truck at the intersection of Congress and Fifth avenues, the complaint states.
Roach is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances, speeding, careless driving and reckless driving.
Originally published August 18, 2022.
In other news:
"Duquesne City Finance…" || "One Dead Following Th…"