Morning Roundup: Coroner identifies Coraopolis teen killed in Parkway West crash
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Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, July 6:
Coroner identifies Coraopolis teen killed in Parkway West crash
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the individual killed in a two-car crash this week on the Parkway West.
Santino Didomenico, 19, of Coraopolis, was pronounced dead at 7:39 a.m. Wednesday at Route 376’s mile marker 53 in Findlay Township, near Pittsburgh International Airport, the medical examiner said.
The cause and manner of death have not been determined yet.
The crash happened at 7:08 a.m., when a westbound car went off the highway near the airport and crashed into a pickup parked on the road’s shoulder, said Trooper Rocco Gagliardi.
Didomenico was pronounced dead at the scene, Gagliardi said. The other driver, who police did not name, was injured and taken to Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side.
The nature and severity of their injuries was not known. It was also unclear which vehicle Didomenico was driving.
State police are investigating.
Police say man repeatedly rammed ex-girlfriend’s vehicle in Walmart lot
A Washington County man remained in jail Thursday after allegedly ramming his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle with his own repeatedly in a South Strabane Walmart parking lot as her she and her child attempted to drive away.
Police this week charged Dametric James Medlen, 22, of Washington, with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of simple assault, and one count each of recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and related vehicle charges, court records show.
Medlen is in Washington County Prison, where his bail was denied Tuesday after his arraignment, court records show. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
South Strabane police told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI that Medlen had a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order against him — violating it was part of the reason he was denied bail, court records show.
Medlen reportedly rammed his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle several times, pushing it through the lot until his vehicle broke down.
Medlen then ran to a nearby McDonalds restaurant, where officers say he hid in the bathroom with a loaded gun, WPXI reported.
Rusty’s Towing removed Medlen’s vehicle. Keith Heckathorne, the owner of the towing company, told WPXI the woman’s car was so damaged he was shocked to find out a child had been in the backseat.
“The whole driver’s side, from the rear wheels to the front, was smashed in,” Heckathorne said. “The doors were all caved in, windows were all blown out of it, but it was drivable.”
Neither the victim, who police did not name, or the child were injured.
Norfolk Southern says other companies share blame for derailment
Norfolk Southern says the owner of a rail car that caused the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment Feb. 3 failed to properly maintain it in the years before the crash. The railroad giant wants to make sure that the company and the owners of other involved rail cars help pay for remediation efforts.
The company filed a complaint last week against car owners and shippers connected to the derailment, the Associated Press reported.
As part of that, Norfolk Southern said GATX, one company whose products were involved in the derailment, didn’t follow the car manufacturer’s recommendations for taking care of its plastic pellet car. The National Transportation Safety Board has said in its preliminary report that the likely cause of the crash was that a bearing on that car overheated.
A final report will not available until at least next year, officials said.
The derailment forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and sent a towering plume of black smoke over the town of East Palestine
The railroad said everyone involved in shipping hazardous chemicals bears some responsibility under federal regulations in making sure they get to their destination safely, the Associated Press said.
Norfolk Southern, like many transportation companies, doesn’t own most of the cars it hauls, and it said the car owner and shippers are responsible for maintaining them even though railroad workers inspect and repair them along the way if they find defects.
Norfolk Southern claims GATX’s plastic pellet car sat idle for more than a year and a half in 2017 and 2018, and again for more than six months in 2018 and 2019. It alleges railcars need to be moved at least one car length ever six months to keep the grease on the bearings from degrading, which can happen over long periods of time or during extreme weather.
The GATX car allegedly was based near New Orleans, which experiences hurricanes and flooding.
GATX said in a statement that “throughout our 125-year history, the safety of our employees, our customers, our environment and the communities in which we operate has always been our highest priority. We will vigorously defend the company against baseless claims made by Norfolk Southern.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this article)
Source: TribLIVE
