Suspect chase ends in Route 51 crash that injures at least 2
A chase for a homicide suspect ended in a car crash that shuttered Route 51 and left at least two men injured Monday.
“Multiple Pittsburgh police units” were pursuing the suspect in a recent homicide at about 2:40 p.m. Monday when the suspect’s vehicle crashed at the BP gas station on Route 51, police said.
Four men fled from the crashed vehicle on foot, and one of the men who fled was struck by a vehicle driven by a detective involved in the pursuit, Pittsburgh police said.
The injured suspect was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, police said. The detective also was taken to the hospital for evaluation and testing.
51 is closed in 1 direction after witnesses say they saw a car flying down the road during a chase. It crashed at the BP. Witnesses say at least 2 people got out and ran @WPXI pic.twitter.com/0NAXTvdlUV
— Amy Hudak (@amy_hudak) January 9, 2023
The three other men who fled the suspect vehicle were apprehended at the scene and are being questioned, police said. No charges yet have been filed.
Medics evaluated one of the suspects at police headquarters for “a lower body injury.”
Allegheny County police are investigating the chase, while Pittsburgh police handle the homicide, they said.
Police did not initially detail the homicide connected to the crash. Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported that the incident is connect to Sunday’s shooting in Carrick that left a 21-year-old dead.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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