Police: Man was texting just before crash on Liberty Bridge

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh police said a Fayette County man was texting and driving in April when he caused a wrong-way crash that critically injured four people on the Liberty Bridge.

Richard Lee Hauschel II, 32, of Brownsville was charged Tuesday with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and other offenses.

The April 4 crash shut down the bridge for several hours and was the catalyst of a massive traffic jam throughout the Pittsburgh metro area during afternoon rush hour.

Mr. Hauschel was driving to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC to pick up his girlfriend and her daughter around 2:30 p.m. when he came out of the Liberty Tunnel and onto the bridge, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr. Hauschel told investigators he couldn’t remember anything after he came out of the tunnel, but that’s when police say he veered out of his lane and hit an oncoming car headon.

A third vehicle was struck after the initial impact, police said. The driver of that car suffered minor injuries and refused to be taken to a hospital.

In the car that Mr. Hauschel struck first were Brandon and Maureen Ciampaglia and their 4day-old son, Liam. All three were restrained in the car but were critically injured.

Police said Mr. Ciampaglia fractured all of his ribs as well as his sternum, spine and ocular bone, and Ms. Ciampaglia fractured both of her shoulders, multiple ribs and sternum and also ruptured her spleen. Liam suffered a fractured skull, a lacerated liver and had a brain bleed, according to police.

Mr. and Ms. Ciampaglia could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Hauschel was also critically injured and was taken to UPMC Presbyterian, police said.

Investigators reviewed Mr. Hauschel’s phone records and said he received and sent several text messages on his cell phone in the minutes leading up to the crash.

“Based on the phone records, this is consistent with distracted driving by use of cell phone,” the complaint said.