Man charged with driving through protesters

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A North Versailles man was charged a day after he tried to drive through a group of protesters Sunday who had temporarily blocked traffic on Route 30 in North Versailles.

Ronald V. Hinerman, 69, was charged Monday with reckless endangerment of another person for attempting to make his way through dozens of people rallying for social justice in the aftermath of the June 19 shooting death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II by a police officer.

According to a criminal complaint, Mr. Hinerman drove his car through the crowd just before 5 p.m. Sunday. His vehicle struck one of the protesters, identified by police as Jacob Nunley of Penn Hills. The impact knocked Mr. Nunley onto the roof of Mr. Hinerman’s car and he then fell into the middle of an intersection. Mr. Nunley told police he was injured but declined medical treatment.

After Mr. Hinerman was taken into custody, he developed a medical condition and was taken to a hospital by ambulance, the complaint said.

The incident marked the second time a motorist tried to drive through a group protesting the shooting of Antwon.

Bell Acres Councilman Gregory C. Wagner, 58, was charged with three counts of reckless endangerment after police used witness accounts and TV footage to identify him as the man who drove into a crowd June 22 at West General Robinson Street and Tony Dorsett Drive on the North Shore. Two people were injured in the incident near PNC Park.

Mr. Wagner faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday in City Court.

Sunday’s protest began outside the home of East Pittsburgh Mayor Louis Payne.

Antwon was shot June 19 by East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld after the teen ran from a vehicle during a traffic stop.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. filed a criminal homicide charge against Officer Rosfeld eight days later. Officer Rosfeld remains on house arrest and faces a preliminary hearing July 27.