Crime & Safety

Traffic Blotter: Snowstorm Kept Police Busy

Flooding problems were minimal compared to snow- and ice-related incidents.

First there was the snow and ice and umpteen traffic accidents. Then came the rain, a little bit of flooding, and not too many problems.

When it comes to weather, Pine and Richland townships have had a variety pack of snow, sleet, rain and ice. That mix of weather soon translates into traffic accidents.

The rain early last week caused a few problems on Route 910 and Pearce Mill Road in Pine Township, said Northern Regional Police Chief Robert Amann. One lane of each had to be closed for a short time because of flooding, he said, but the roads remained open.

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He commended the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for its work on the state-maintained roads.

“They responded in a timely fashion,” said Amann.

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The big snowstorm in late February was a different story altogether. Northern Regional Police answered nearly a hundred snow-related calls for the storm, Amann said. Here’s a recap of weather-related traffic accidents in chronological order to show you what's been happening around the Pine-Richland community.

Non-weather-related incidents also are detailed.

Feb. 20 at 10:30 p.m.

Chelsea Koryak of Gibsonia was traveling on Kim Lane in Richland Township when her car began to slide on the snow- and ice-covered road, according to police. The car slid into the yard of 3824 Kim Lane, causing some damage to the landscape, police said. Occupants of the car refused medical treatment, police said, and the car was drivable.

Feb. 21 at 6:30 a.m.

A 2008 Honda Fit driven by Mihaela Bafik of New Kensington slid out of control on a slush-covered Babcock Boulevard in Pine Township, according to a police report.

The car turned on its side after hitting an embankment between MacLeod Drive and Bakerstown Road, police said. The driver said “the roadway was wet until she entered the curve where her [car] slid out of control on slush and ice,” the police report states.

Feb. 21 at 3:50 p.m.

A 17-year-old Wexford girl failed to negotiate a curve at 11133 Babcock Boulevard in Pine Township and struck a utility pole, according to police. The driver sustained a wrist injury and her 2004 Mazda had to be towed from the scene, police said.

Feb. 21 at 5:15 p.m.

Michelle Pcsolyar of Oakmont was traveling east on Bakerstown Road near Tilt’s Pizza Pasta Pub when a red truck passed her and forced her into the guide rail on her right, police said.

Road conditions were extremely poor at the time of the accident, according to the police report, and Pcsolyar was unable to provide a license plate for the truck.

Her truck sustained light paint damage to the passenger side, police said.

 Feb. 21 at 6:45 p.m.

Randolph Wood of Wexford was stopped on Franklin Road in Pine Township when he was tapped from behind by a 2010 Infiniti driven by Theresa Smith of  Gibsonia, police said.

Wood’s 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser slid forward on the ice and struck a mailbox pillar at 730 Franklin Road, according to the police report. The vehicle then “kicked out” sideways and was once again struck on the passenger side by Smith’s car, which had continued to slide on the ice-covered roadway, police said.

“Both operators stated impact was at a very low speed due to them being on solid ice and just sliding,” the police report states.

No one was injured and all wore seatbelts, the police report notes.

Feb. 21 about 8 p.m.

A 2010 Nissan driven by Joshua Bergman of Seven Fields got stuck on an icy hill on Franklin Road in Pine Township, drifted backward, spun around and slid into a vehicle stopped behind him, police reported.

The stopped vehicle was a 2008 Toyota Highlander driven by Rachel Smith of Cranberry, police said.

Then a 2004 GMC Sierra driven by Ronald Beadnell of Cranberry drove past both cars, got stuck on the ice and drifted back into Bergman’s car, according to the police report.

No injuries were reported and the damage to the vehicles “was very slight due to the vehicles just sliding into each other,” the police report stated.

Two of the vehicles had to be towed to the top of the hill simply to get them off the ice, police said.

Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m.

A 2005 Acura TL driven by Lisa Brooks of Cranberry struck another car at the intersection of Route 19 [Perry Highway] and Bradford Road in Pine Township, police said.

Brooks was traveling south on Route 19 and had just come to the crest of  a hill when she saw the car, driven by John Swedish of Mars, had stopped at the traffic light ahead, police said.

“She applied her brakes on [the] icy road and lost control, spinning completely around [and] striking” the 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Swedish, the police report stated.

Both units were driven from the scene, police said.

Feb. 22 at 11:45 a.m.

Katie Forrester of Gibsonia lost control of her vehicle as she was traveling east on Route 910 [Gibsonia Road] close to Turner Road and Lori Drive, police reported.

When she entered a left turn, Forrester lost control of her 2009 Plymouth Sundance, ran off the right side of the road and hit a utility pole, police said.

The car crossed both lanes of Route 910 and rested on a berm for westbound lanes, police said.

Forrester told police she lost control on the wet and icy roadway, according to police. She reported no injuries, but her car had to be towed, police said.

“At [the] time of crash, Gibsonia Road was wet and salted from a recent snowfall. The sides of the road were still snow-covered,” the police report stated.

Feb. 22 at 12:30 p.m.

A 2006 Ford Focus driven by Kelly Labasik of Harmony got stuck in the snow after it slid off the road at 342 Warrendale Road in Pine Township, police said.

Labasik told police she hit her brakes when she saw ice on the road, then ran off the road, according to the police report.

Her car had to be winched out of the snow by Lombardo’s Towing, police said. No damage was visible and the car was driven from the scene, police said.

Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.

A fender-bender was reported at the busy intersection of Church Road and Route 19 in Pine Township.

Susan Kearney of Wexford had stopped her 2004 Honda CRV at the stop sign as she waited to enter Route 19 heading south, police said. She started to move forward, but stopped when she noticed traffic, according to the police report.

A 2009 Nissan Murano driven by Kenneth Goodboy of Wexford struck her rear bumper, police said.

Both drivers refused medical treatment, police said. The vehicles suffered minor damage, said police.

A nearly identical incident occurred Feb. 15 at 9 a.m.

Kiran Bhandari of Wexford had stopped at the Church Road stop sign to make a right turn onto Route 19, then proceeded, then stopped again because of the heavy traffic, according to police.

Autumn Stotlemyer of Cheswick, who had stopped behind her, told police she was looking for traffic on Route 19. She did not realize the car in front of her had stopped a second time and bumped into it, police said. No injuries were reported and both cars had minor damage, police said.

Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Christopher Scott of Gibsonia was traveling south on Route 8 near North Park Clubhouse when he stopped for a vehicle making a left turn in front of him, police said.

A 2008 Kia Rio driven by Caitlin Tokarski of  Gibsonia ran into the back of Scott’s 2001 Buick Century, police said.

Tokarski said when she struck her brakes, she slid on the wet roadway and into the back of Scott’s car, the police report states.

No injuries were reported. Scott was cited for having no insurance or driver’s license, police said.

Feb. 26 at 10:30 a.m.

Ralitsa Lau of West View lost control of her 2005 Ford Focus on the morning of Feb. 26 as she drove on Babcock Boulevard near Deer Path Lane, police said.

Lau told police she was “travelling north on Babcock negotiating a left-hand curve when she lost control and spun out into the guard rail,” according to the police report.

The curve was wet from melting snow, the report noted.

 The car’s front end and right rear were damaged; the vehicle had to be towed, police said.

Pickup Truck Does Not Stop After Hitting Vehicle

Patrick Gauselmann of Prospect told police a red pickup truck struck his vehicle about 1 a.m. Feb. 17 on Route 8 in the area of the Scoreboard Lounge, according to a police report.

Gauselmann told police he was traveling north on Route 8 [William Flynn Highway] in the left lane when he saw the pickup truck leave the parking lot of the Scoreboard Lounge at 6179 William Flynn Highway, police said.

As the truck entered Route 8, also heading north, Gauselmann said he switched into the right lane to avoid a collision, police said.

Gauselmann said that as he tried to move past the pickup truck, it merged into his lane and struck the left side of his vehicle, pushing it into the guide rail, police said.

The pickup truck did not stop, police said.

Moderate damage was observed to both sides of Gauselmann’s car, the police report noted.

A Northern Regional Police officer visited Scoreboard Lounge in an attempt to identify the driver of the red pickup, police said.

“Patrons inside were uncooperative,” the police report stated. 

Two Cars Collide at Pine Township Intersection

Two cars collided Feb. 15 about 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Wallace Road and Village Run Road, but no injuries were reported, according to police.

Kimberly Blair of Gibsonia attempted to make a left turn from Wallace Road onto Village Run Road in Pine Township when she collided with a 2008 Ford Escape driven by James McGinnis of Mars, police said.

McGinnis told police he had the solid green light on Wallace Road, and Blair said she had a green left-turn arrow when she turned into the intersection, police said.

“Multiple cycles of the intersection traffic signal were monitored and found to be functioning properly at the time of the accident,” the police report states. “East and west green arrow signals showed to activate at the same time while through traffic held at a solid red signal.”

Both vehicles were towed.


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