A man from Pittsburgh’s South Oakland neighborhood who took a woman’s car without her permission Sunday crashed it into an Uber vehicle, injuring the driver, and then ran away from the crash scene on Route 28, Millvale police allege in a criminal complaint.
Millvale police filed charges Tuesday against Walter Banks, 45. He had not yet been arraigned, according to court records.
Police identified Banks as the driver because he left his cellphone behind, a criminal complaint said.
According to the complaint, Millvale police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the area of the 40th Street Bridge and Route 28 around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Officers were told the driver of one of the vehicles fled the scene toward the 40th Street Bridge. Police were unable to find the driver, the complaint states.
The operator of the other vehicle, who was driving for Uber, was hurt and taken to Allegheny General Hospital for evaluation, the complaint states. A passenger was not hurt.
The driver said he was turning from the bridge to southbound Route 28 when the other vehicle hit him on the rear driver’s side quarter panel, according to the complaint. The collision sent both vehicles into the concrete median and they slid about 50 feet, causing disabling damage.
Police found a cellphone in the empty vehicle, the complaint states. Police answered it when a woman, the car’s owner, called.
The woman told police she had just woken up and found her car was missing from her house. She said Banks, her child’s father, had stayed the night at her house and taken her car without permission. The phone she called belonged to Banks, she told police.
The woman said Banks had not contacted her since the crash, according to the complaint.
Police charged Banks with accidents involving death or personal injury, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property, reckless driving, failing to stop and give information or render aid, and immediate notice of accident to police.