Weak evidence dooms case against Hazelwood driver who killed 6-year-old

Charges against a Hazelwood woman whose vehicle struck and killed a 6-year-old boy riding his bicycle in Glen Hazel nearly two years ago were dismissed on Tuesday after the prosecution conceded it could not prove her guilt at trial.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alexander P. Bicket granted a defense motion asking that charges of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter be thrown out against Rhonda Wood, 64.

Wood was charged in the July 26, 2022, collision that killed Jamel Austin.

Jamel had been riding his bike in the 700 block of Johnston Avenue just after 8 p.m. when Wood struck him with her SUV.

Pittsburgh police wrote in a criminal complaint that witnesses reported Wood failed to stop her 2015 Buick Enclave. They also said that Wood had received a cell phone call at 8:18 p.m. lasting one minute, and that she was distracted when she struck Jamel.

The first call to 911 about the accident came in one second after her phone call ended.

However, Wood’s defense attorney, Michael Machen, filed a petition asking that the court dismiss the charges, arguing that the prosecution could not prove that the crash was caused by either the alleged stop sign violation or distracted driving.

“While these events are tragic, they were simply an accident,” he wrote.

At a hearing on the matter Tuesday morning, Deputy District Attorney Brian Catanzarite conceded that the prosecution could not meet its burden to prove the charges against Wood.

Bicket granted the defense petition.

Afterward, Machen said his client did not exhibit recklessness or gross negligence — factors that are necessary to prove the crimes alleged.

“There is no reckless driving by Ms. Wood. There is no speeding by Ms. Wood,” Machen wrote. “Not every accident is criminal.”

Wood, who had been visiting her father a couple of blocks away from the accident scene, has been remorseful since the incident, Machen said.

Video from Pittsburgh Regional Transit cameras showed Wood cradling Jamel in the street just after the crash, Machen said.

At the preliminary hearing in the case last June, a witness testified that Wood did not stop at the stop sign, but either yielded or glided through the intersection.

Although Pittsburgh police collected the vehicle’s event data recorder, it did not show any significant event prior to the crash and also did not indicate whether the vehicle had stopped at the stop sign, Machen wrote.

The defense said there was no evidence to show whether the phone call connected through the Bluetooth entertainment system in Woods’ vehicle, or whether she was distracted by it.

“The commonwealth cannot establish that the defendant did not stop at the stop sign, nor can it establish that defendant was distracted while driving,” Machen wrote in his petition.

Machen said that evidence showed Jamel’s bike entered the roadway from the sidewalk, and that the collision occurred outside of the crosswalk — 47.6 feet from the stop sign.

“This collision still could have occurred if a full stop at the stop sign had occurred, as when defendant entered the intersection and crosswalk, both were clear, and the roadway was clear,” Machen wrote.

There will be a hearing at a later date to address the summary traffic violation against Wood for careless driving and failure to stop at a stop sign.

Following Jamel’s death, community members lobbied the city to put speed bumps on Johnston Avenue to try to make the street safer.

A year ago, the traffic calming devices were installed on Johnston between Second Avenue and Rivermont Drive.