Here are a few morning news items for Monday, Feb. 19, 2024.
Penn Township garage destroyed by fire
An explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a garage in Penn Township late Saturday night.
TribLive news partner WTAE reports that dozens of firefighters worked late into the night battling a fire which destroyed a garage on Gertrude Drive in Penn Township.
County emergency officials told WTAE that oxygen tanks being stored in the garage were likely the cause of the explosion.
1 injured when train strikes vehicle in Fayette County
One person was injured when a Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad train collided with a vehicle early Monday morning in Fayette County, according to 911 officials.
Emergency responders were called to Jones Street in Everson, between Graff Street and Pennsylania Avenue, around 5:50 a.m., according to a Fayette 911 supervisor.
Officials from Carload Express, the Oakmont company which operates the Pennsylvania Southwest Railroad, said there were no injuries to the train’s crew.
Man suspected of arson arrested on South Side
Police arrested a man late Sunday night for suspected arson after initially being called for a suspected burglary.
Officers with the South Side Entertainment Patrol were clearing a building on the 900 block of Bingham Street when they discovered Jeffery Shelpman, 35, of Pittsburgh, trying to flee the area with a rock and lighter.
Shelpman was detained after officers discovered a bed on fire in a vacant apartment inside the building. He was charged with burglary, trespassing, arson, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Firefighters extinguished the bed, and are continuing the investigation.
McKnight Road restrictions start Monday
Pipe and drainage cleaning will mean traffic restrictions along McKnight Road starting Monday morning, according to PennDOT officials.
McKnight will have single-lane restrictions in place between the Babcock Boulevard/Evergreen Road interchange and Perrymont Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. continuing through early summer.
A larger, $25.5 million project that will include milling, paving, bridge preservation and new water lines along a 5-mile stretch of McKnight Road has been delayed, PennDOT officials said earlier this month. When that project begins, work will take place overnight.
Whitehall man charged with attempted homicide
A 21-year-old Whitehall man was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangering, false imprisonment and possession of criminal instruments after police say he attacked another man with a knife.
Police were called to 1600 block of Parkline Drive on Saturday around 6 p.m. for a report of an active assault. They arrived to find a 46-year-old man with multiple slash wounds, including wounds to the head, according to court documents.
Nathaniel Jenkins Jr., 21, of Whitehall, was taken into custody and the victim was transported to a local hospital.
Jenkins was denied bail and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. He faces a Feb. 27 preliminary hearing in District Judge David Barton’s Whitehall court.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.