Tow truck driver killed in hit-and-run crash on Parkway West, police say
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Charges against a suspected drunk driver are pending after police say he hit and killed a tow truck driver on the Parkway West.
Police said it was just before midnight on Wednesday when a suspected drunk driver hit and killed tow truck driver Husam Shuibat and fled the scene.
According to police, 23-year-old Hunter Crown was driving in the inbound lanes of the Parkway West between the Carnegie and Green Tree exits when he struck Shuibat.
"That tow truck was on the side of the road with its lights on. That actually deems it to be an emergency scene," Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said. "Drivers in the state of Pennsylvania have to move over for any vehicle that's on the side of the road."
Police say the 53-year-old victim, who worked for Advantage Towing in Carnegie, had just finished securing the car on the flatbed when he was sideswiped while getting back into his truck.
Police were able to track down Crown with the help of witnesses, who gave a detailed description of the car and plate number. Crown was later arrested for suspicion of DUI.
Todd Leiss, the deputy director of training for the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, says he's sad and angry because crashes involving emergency responders are preventable. He says there's no excuse for driving drunk, drugged, drowsy, distracted or dangerous.
"If he is found at fault and found guilty, that he be sentenced to prison, that he never drive again, and that he has to do some type of community service," he said.
Once the reconstruction team and forensic unit reports are done, they will be presented to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office for charges.
Advantage Towing declined to comment.