Police: Texting While Driving Led To Violent Liberty Bridge Crash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Brownsville man is facing charges for allegedly texting while driving and causing a violent crash on the Liberty Bridge on April 4.
There is a warrant out for the arrest of the man police say caused that crash because of texting while driving.
Thirty-two-year-old Richard Hauschel II, of Brownsville in Fayette county, is facing felony charges of aggravated assault by vehicle for allegedly texting while driving and causing a violent crash on the Liberty Bridge that left a family critically injured.
According to Pittsburgh Police detectives, Hauschel was driving a Dodge Journey when he accelerated coming out of the tunnels into the wrong lane.
Police accident reconstruction experts said Hauschel was going 44 mph in what was a 30 mph active work zone.
According to detectives, Hauschel's cell phone records show several text messages were received and sent in the minutes leading up to the crash.
Police said Brandon and Maureen Ciampaglia and their 4-day-old son were heading outbound in a Nissan when they were struck by Hauschel head-on. Police said the force caused their car to spin out and hit Robert Hvizdak, who was driving a Lexus.
Police said Hvizdak did not want to be taken to a hospital, but the Ciampaglia family and Hauschel were transported for treatment.
Police report interviewing Hauschel in the hospital after the crash. They said he told them he came through the Liberty Tunnel onto the bridge, but cannot recall anything after that until he woke up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
KDKA went to the Ciampaglia's home and tried to speak with them to get an update on their conditions and the reaction to the charges being filed, but nobody answered the door.
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