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.
Wilkins Man Charged in NVT Crash Death
Police allege driver was high at time of collision
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
October 24, 2024
Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
Witnesses said a car driven by a Wilkins Twp. man “had to be pushing 100” miles per hour before it collided with another car in North Versailles Twp., leading to a Duquesne woman’s death.
Aaron J. Butler, 21, is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide in connection with the April 7 death of 66-year-old Tammy Chonko. Butler is free on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 1 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Charges were filed Oct. 17.
Detectives allege that Butler was speeding, driving erratically and high on marijuana when his car collided with Chonko’s car at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Crooked Run Road in North Versailles Twp.
Chonko died at UPMC Presbyterian hospital, Oakland, of multiple traumatic injuries sustained in the crash, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said.
In a criminal complaint, police said that Butler was working as a delivery driver for Walmart on April 7 and had just dropped off a package in McKeesport before the crash.
Police said Butler’s car was headed north on Fifth Avenue just after 6 p.m. when it struck Chonko’s vehicle, which was pulling out from a stop sign on Crooked Run.
Butler suffered a collapsed lung in the crash and was taken to UPMC Presbyterian by ambulance, police said. During an interview at the hospital with county detectives, according to the complaint, Butler admitted to having used marijuana “two to three days” before the wreck.
He told police that Chonko’s car “hesitated” while pulling into the intersection and that he could not avoid the collision. Butler denied speeding, police said.
But the airbag sensor from Butler’s car recorded the speed at 90 miles per hour just before the collision, police allege in the complaint.
The speed limit on Fifth Avenue is 35 mph.
Two witnesses told detectives that Butler’s vehicle was weaving in and out of traffic prior to the collision.
One witness who also was driving north on Fifth Avenue said she was traveling at 40 mph when Butler passed her vehicle and said “he had to be pushing 100.”
Police obtained surveillance video from a nearby business that shows the collision and shows all four wheels on Butler’s car locked up as he attempted to stop, according to the complaint.
A chemical analysis determined that Butler had 12.2 ng/ml of cannabinoids in his blood at the time of the accident, police allege. Pennsylvania law sets a limit of 1 ng/ml for drivers to be considered intoxicated.
Butler is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, careless driving, speeding and related offenses.
Originally published October 24, 2024.
In other news:
"MASD: 12 Candidates f…" || "Penn State Hosts Comm…"