It could be some time before police will know whether to file charges against the driver of a pickup that struck and killed a pedestrian Wednesday morning on Greensburg Road in Lower Burrell.
A police reconstruction of the scene could take months to offer any conclusions, according to Lower Burrell police Detective Steve Aulerich.
Harry J. Thomas, 62, of Plum was walking toward New Kensington on Greensburg Road when he was hit by a vehicle, according to Westmoreland County Coroner John Ackerman. Information in the coroner’s release listed Thomas’ Plum address about a half-mile from the scene of his death.
The incident was reported about 1 p.m. Wednesday near the city’s Kinloch neighborhood, but Aulerich said the accident took place during early morning hours. He couldn’t offer an exact time.
Aulerich confirmed the driver of the vehicle, who is cooperating with the investigation, returned to the scene and called 911.
A state police forensics team and personnel from the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office responded in the afternoon. They were examining a white Ford pickup with front-end damage in front of PSE Asphalt and Concrete Construction along Greensburg Road.
Thomas’ cause of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology results.
Visitation for Thomas is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19 at the Rusiewicz of Lower Burrell Funeral Home, 3124 Leechburg Road. Services will be held there at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, with burial following at Greenwood Memorial Park in Lower Burrell.
According to his obituary, Thomas was a lifelong resident of the New Kensington area. He worked as a self-employed mechanic for Thomas’s Auto and Truck Service, and had also worked for Key Lincoln. His survivors include two children and three brothers.
Walking was one of the things Thomas enjoyed, along with mechanical work, meeting and talking to people, and spending time with his family, according to his obituary.
Theodore Hare, 88, said it wasn’t unusual to see Thomas walking along Greensburg Road, often near the painted edge line of the roadway. Hare said he even gave Thomas a lift home once.
A lifelong resident of Kinloch, Hare said drivers often speed through the area, which in that section is lit by streetlights.
“It’s hard to see (emotionally) anyone hit like that,” he said.
Greensburg Road sees a fair amount of accidents, which Aulerich said is typical of a busy state route.
“It has its share of crashes,” the detective said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Aulerich at 724-339-4287, ext. 266.
