Driver in fatal Route 30 crash that killed 4 in North Huntingdon arraigned on homicide by vehicle, DUI charges

A Pitcairn man who drove a car authorities said was responsible for a deadly Valentine’s Day crash on Route 30 in North Huntingdon was arraigned Friday on multiple criminal counts, including homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police said the 1996 Buick LeSabre driven by Timothy A. Richardson, 31, a former Trafford resident, was traveling too fast for wet conditions when it failed to negotiate a curve, crossed the center line of the highway about 6 p.m. and collided with an eastbound Honda CRV. Four people died, including all three people in the Honda.

Richardson bought the car a month earlier and the vehicle failed an inspection Jan. 21 at a Trafford garage, township police accident reconstruction officer Theodore Kukich reported in court documents. He said there were no skid marks on the road before the crash.

Various problems with the car, Kukich reported, included “the rear brakes were not passable, and the driver’s side rocker panel was rotted out, along with the right rear quarter panel. … The fuel tank was also leaking.”

Richardson’s blood-alcohol content was .093%, Kukich reported. In Pennsylvania, .08% is the legal limit.

The crash killed three women from the local Vietnamese community who were returning home from a Lunar New Year Mass at a Pittsburgh church, according to acquaintances. Those killed in the Honda were driver Thu Thi Xuan Nguyen, 51, of Hempfield; front-seat passenger Lan Thi Trinh, 67, of North Huntingdon; and back-seat passenger Phuongan Trinh Tran, 30, of North Huntingdon.

The fourth victim was Jeffrey Tomay, 44, of McKeesport, who was riding in the front seat of Richardson’s car.

Tomay and Nguyen were pronounced dead at the scene by the Westmoreland County coroner at 7:36 p.m. The coroner said both victims died of blunt force trauma.

Tomay was not wearing a seat belt, the coroner said.

Trinh and Tran were transported to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where they died, police said.

Richardson was arraigned Friday shortly after he was released from AHN Forbes Hospital, where he was treated for multiple injuries.

Heather Truong, a friend, said the three women were part of the Pittsburgh Vietnamese Catholics and had attended a special Mass at Holy Wisdom Church on East Street in Pittsburgh’s North Side. All three women emigrated from Vietnam, Truong said.

In addition to four counts of homicide by vehicle, Richardson is charged with four counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, five counts of reckless endangering and single counts of DUI, careless driving causing unintentional death, driving at an unsafe speed, disregarding traffic lanes, operating a vehicle without a valid inspection and reckless driving.

He was ordered held in the county prison after failing to post $250,000 bond.