Man Found Guilty In 3 Upper St. Clair Teens' Deaths
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A man charged in the deaths of three Upper Saint Clair teens has been found guilty on all charges.
Ryan Safka is charged in connection with the deaths of David Rizzo, Tara Schulz and Derek Phillips.
They were killed two years ago when the car Safka was driving plunged over a hillside off the Parkway West.
After the verdict was read, Safka taken into custody immediately. However, he will be eligible for home electronic monitoring until sentencing takes place on May 15.
A ruling was delayed earlier this month because Judge Jeffrey Manning said there was no precedent for using event data recorder evidence for determining speed in Pennsylvania and that he did not have enough evidence to rule.
Earlier, a State Trooper testified that the car reached speeds of up to 106 miles per hour before it crashed.
The only other survivor of the crash, Brenden Johnson, testified that he had little memory of the events leading to the crash.
However, he believed Safka was driving at 70 to 75 miles per hour before the car lost control.
The defense claimed the data is skewed and that road conditions contributed to the crash.
A vigil will be held for the victims at the crash site behind the Days Inn on Banksville Road at 6:30 p.m.
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