Wilkinsburg man on trial for fatal 2017 crash in Squirrel Hill
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A Wilkinsburg man accused of being drunk, crashing the car he was driving and killing one of his passengers is on trial this week in Allegheny County.
Daquan Lamont Thompson, 25, is facing charges including homicide by vehicle for the crash.
Thompson and three passengers were in a Chevrolet Cobalt headed to Uniontown at about noon Oct. 28, 2017, after going to a house party in Pittsburgh the night before, according to a criminal complaint.
Thompson refused to let the others drive and told them he was OK to drive the car, according to the complaint.
The car was going 60 mph up a hill on Shady Avenue when it crossed the center line and hit a Lexus traveling in the opposite direction. A parked car was also damaged in the crash.
Angelica Fields, 30, of Uniontown, was a passenger in the Cobalt. She was killed in the crash, according to the complaint.
The roof and passenger doors of the Cobalt had to be removed by authorities to get the people out of the car, according to the complaint. All of the people involved were hurt, police said.
Thompson initially denied driving the car, but police ultimately determined he was driving. Police used the car’s data recorder to determine the Cobalt was going 60 mph. Five seconds before the crash, it slowed to 47 mph. The recorder indicated Thompson didn’t use the brakes before the crash, according to the complaint.
Thompson didn’t have a driver’s license, and when he was treated at the hospital he had a blood alcohol level of .191% — more than twice the legal limit of .08%.
Thompson is charged with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving drunk, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving drunk, drunken driving and several traffic violations, according to the complaint.
The non-jury trial started Monday before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer. Thompson is represented by public defender Aaron Sontz.