Two Dead, Two Injured In Plum Crash
PLUM (KDKA) - Police say two people are dead after a two-vehicle crash in Plum late Sunday night.
It happened just before 10 p.m. in the 2200 block of Route 286, the Golden Mile Highway, right across from the Pine Valley Plaza.
Authorities are looking into distracted driving as a possible cause for the crash.
Allegheny County police say a 25-year-old man was traveling southbound when he crossed the center line and smashed head-on into an SUV with three people inside.
A 19-year-old woman was in the passenger seat. Her mother, 43-year-old Beth Ann Bevridge, was driving and the woman's boyfriend, 17-year-old Michael Zier, was in the backseat.
The violent crash killed both Bevridge and Zier.
The 19-year-old woman was taken to the hospital along with the driver of the other car. Right now, their conditions aren't known.
At this point, police don't believe alcohol played a role in the crash. However, a toxicology report will confirm that.
Watch Christine D'Antonio's report --
The reason for the crash is little consolation for the guys at the Summit Hose Fire Company, where Zier was a volunteer firefighter for the last few years.
"Mikey was, like, the life of the party here," Capt. Ryan Siemanski said. "He always had a smile on his face. He always lightened up the crowd."
Zier was a rising senior at Highlands High School in Tarentum. By 1:30 a.m., his friends and former classmates had already heard the news.
"He was just a good kid. I can't really say anything really bad about him," Issac Kovacs, a friend of Zier's, said. "He loved everybody. He didn't do anything bad. He was a kind heart."
"That kid was so kind-hearted to everyone, never did anything bad to anyone," Brandon Holland, another friend, said.
Zier's gear sits on the front of the Summit Hose fire truck in honor of the fallen firefighter. The plan is to give the Junior Captain a full firefighter's ceremony for his short, but dedicated life to the community of Tarentum.
As tragic as this accident was, Chief Armstrong said it could have been even worse because the highway is typically heavily congested.
"The time of day was beneficial because we have light traffic down there that time of night and the next day being a work day, instead of it being a weekday," he said.
Allegheny County Police have taken over the investigation. They'll decide if there will be any charges filed against that other driver.
Stay with KDKA.com for more on this developing story.
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