McKeesport man acquitted in crash that killed motorcyclist, seriously injured another

A McKeesport man charged with killing one motorcyclist and severely injuring another was found not guilty of all counts against him by a jury on Friday.

Abdulhamid Almansouri, 51, went to trial this week before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Elliot Howsie.

The jurors deliberated for about seven hours before returning their verdict Friday afternoon. When they did, the victim’s mother shouted from the gallery, “You killed my daughter.”

Moments later, as the jurors were being polled individually, Almansouri passed out.

First responders evaluated him and cleared him before the not guilty verdict was formally recorded, said defense attorney Lisa Caulfield.

“I think the verdict was just,” she said afterward. “My client is devastated this happened. His heart goes out to (the victims). He’ll live with this for the rest of his life.”

The case stemmed from a crash that happened around 4:40 p.m. Oct. 31, 2021, along McKeesport Road in Elizabeth Township.

Police said a van driven by Almansouri swerved onto the shoulder of the road before veering into the oncoming lane of traffic. Oncoming motorcycles driven by Christina Bocan, 47, and her boyfriend David Fresch crashed into the passenger side of the van.

Bocan was killed. Fresch lost his leg.

The van’s electronic data recorder showed Almansouri was traveling 43 mph five seconds before the crash. The speed limit on the two-lane road is 25.

Almansouri told police that the steering mechanism of the van locked up, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

During closing arguments Thursday, Caulfield told the jury that no crime was committed.

“There was an accident. It was a horrible accident,” she said.

Caulfield said that the van went off the road abruptly, leaving 71 feet of tire tracks on the shoulder. Almansouri then jerked the wheel, crossing into the other lane. He was slowing down at the time of impact, she said.

“All of the information above doesn’t answer the question: Why did this accident happen?” she asked.

The defense argued that although police inspected the van for mechanical failures — and found none — they did not drive it. And before the defense could hire an expert to do their own independent review, the van was destroyed.

“The government let the van be destroyed months before charges were filed,” Caulfield said. “The van shouldn’t have been released, but it was, and no one knows why the mistake was made.”

To find Almansouri guilty of homicide by vehicle, the jury was required to find that he acted with gross negligence or reckless disregard. But, Caulfield said, witnesses described Almansouri as distraught at the scene.

“This is not gross negligence,” she said. “This is an accident. Don’t let sympathy cloud your judgment.”

Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky told the jury that no matter how many times the defense calls the crash “an accident,” that doesn’t make it so.

He argued that Almansouri was driving 18 mph over the speed limit on a two-lane road, which he described as grossly negligent.

Chernosky said the vehicle inspection done by investigators showed no problem in the van’s suspension, steering or brakes.

“For this little blip to be the only time this (van) malfunctioned flies in the face of reason,” Chernosky said.

Almansouri was not in control of his vehicle when he left the road and then overcorrected, the prosecutor said.