Man accused of crashing SUV into motorcycle in New Kensington, seriously injuring driver

A Hempfield man accused of seriously injuring a motor­cyclist when he crashed into his bike in New Kensington was taken into custody nearly a year after charges were filed.

Yahor Ramanau, 20, of the 800 block of College Avenue was charged Nov. 4, 2022 with a felony count of aggravated assault by a motor vehicle in connection with the June 12, 2022, incident. He also was issued three traffic citations.

Ramanau was taken into custody Oct. 2 and released on a $50,000 unsecured bond to await a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on Oct. 26, according to court records.

New Kensington police wrote in a criminal complaint that several witnesses reported that Ramanau was turning left from Craigdell Road into the Pittsburgh Ice Arena when he failed to yield the right-of-way and hit a 2001 Indian Scout motorcycle.

A motorcyclist riding behind the Indian Scout said the front of Ramanau’s Range Rover SUV struck the motorcyclist’s left leg, causing the bike to drop and slide into a grassy area near the end of a guardrail, the complaint said.

The motorcyclist was taken to a Monroeville hospital for treatment of multiple open leg fractures and a serious foot injury, the complaint said.

The man was readmitted to the hospital on Sept. 2, 2022, after he began developing complications from the injury, which will require plastic surgery to repair, the complaint said.

A woman who witnessed the crash told investigators that Ramanau asked her whether the motorcycle was speeding before the collision.

She told him, and investigators, that she did not believe it was speeding because there was a line of traffic along Craigdell Road, the complaint said.