Charges pending against driver accused of hitting woman in wheelchair in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Police have identified a driver who is accused of hitting a woman in a wheelchair in an Oakland crosswalk Monday morning.
The woman told KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller she's now left with a severely damaged wheelchair that she can no longer use.
Kelda Gorman hadn't watched the surveillance video of her hit-and-run but asked for KDKA to show her on Wednesday.
"Yep, he hit me and pushed me into that intersection and I started melting down," said Gorman.
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police asked for help identifying the driver of the car that ran a red light Monday just before 7:30 a.m. The driver crashed into Gorman and her electric wheelchair as she crossed North Craig at Centre Avenue.
"I heard it snap too. And the arm of my electric wheelchair is pushed all the way against the seat where it's not supposed to be," she said.
Police spokesperson Cara Cruz said the video speaks for itself.
"She did have the right of way. In fact, all four crosswalks are green -- it's that type of a crosswalk, and the driver clearly ran a red light," said Cruz.
People who live in that part of Oakland couldn't believe the driver didn't stop or even get out to check on Gorman.
"He just doesn't care! Wow, that's awful," said Ella Micera, a Pitt student.
Police believed the driver was in a white Honda Accord, but they couldn't get a clean read of the license plate. They were investigating a plate relayed to them by a witness.
Gorman just wants the driver to do the right thing.
"Own up," said Gorman. "It will make you a bigger and better person and I'm not going to let this cripple me. You're not going to win this fight."
The day after police shared the surveillance footage, they said they had identified the driver and charges were pending. The driver's identity wasn't released.
