A Pittsburgh man who, authorities say, was intoxicated when he sped through a red light near the West End Bridge and triggered a three-car crash that killed a passenger and injured five more is set to have his day in court.
Pittsburgh police arrested Russell William Page, 28, of Mt. Washington, on 31 criminal charges in connection with the March 2 crash. Among them are homicide by vehicle while DUI, involuntary manslaughter, 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person, and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle.
He was taken to Allegheny County Jail last month, where judges twice denied him bail, court records show.
On Friday morning, a district judge dismissed and prosecutors withdrew a total of 10 of the charges against Page. He is set to be arraigned in Allegheny County Common Pleas court on Sept. 16.
The Mt. Washington man had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.172% — more than twice the legal limit — when he drove his mother’s red 2019 GMC SUV through the traffic light at the intersection of Saw Mill Run Boulevard and West Carson Street at about 2:35 a.m. on that Saturday in March, police said.
A Hyundai SUV hit Page’s vehicle, which spun partially airborne across the intersection and then hit a Tesla sedan, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
As Page’s SUV was spinning, the vehicle’s rear door was ripped off and a passenger, Eonna D. Page, was thrown from the vehicle, the complaint said. Police believe she was not wearing a seat belt.
Eonna Page landed on the roadway, where the same SUV she was riding as a passenger then hit her, crushing her between the vehicle and a concrete barrier, police said. She died at the scene. Her relationship to the driver is unclear.
All three vehicles sustained extensive damage.
Police said Page, after the crash, asked another of his passengers who was driving.
“You were driving,” the passenger replied.
All three passengers in Page’s SUV were highly intoxicated, police said. They were slurring their speech, couldn’t maintain their balance and were unable to answer simple questions.
In addition the blood-alcohol levels, tests showed Page also had Delta-9 THC, a mind-altering chemical found in marijuana, in his system, the complaint said.
Police later found multiple marijuana blunts, which had been smoked, in the center console, on the driver’s floorboard and seat of Page’s SUV, the complaint said.
There was marijuana “shake” — the loose pieces of marijuana that accumulate at the bottom of a bag or container — throughout the SUV, the complaint said. Police also found a Ziploc baggie of raw marijuana and rolled blunts underneath the driver’s seat.
One of the victims injured in the crash, who police did not name, told authorities he was drinking alcohol at a South Side bar earlier that night, the complaint said. He suffered four fractures in his spine, and injuries to his shoulder and elbow.
He did not know who else was in the car.
The posted speed limit on Saw Mill Run Boulevard is 35 mph, police said. On West Carson Street, the limit is 25 mph. It was raining lightly at the time of the crash. The roadway was wet.
An event data recorder, or EDR, from Page’s SUV registered speeds between 51.8 mph and 72.8 mph in the moments before the crash, the complaint said. He did not apply the brakes — and actually pressed down on the accelerator — in the 2.5 seconds immediately before the crash.