Jury convicts driver in fatal DUI crash

An Allegheny County jury deliberated for five hours before convicting a Stanton Heights man Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence in a fatal crash in McKeesport.

Kevin A. Paul, 30, was acquitted of other charges in the Aug. 27, 2016, accident on Route 30 that killed Olin Simpson, 44, of McKeesport. No sentencing date has been set. The trial was before Common Pleas Judge Thomas Flaherty.

East Pittsburgh police were called to the Westinghouse Bridge shortly after 3 a.m. for a report that two cars had crashed. They found Mr. Simpson inside a badly damaged vehicle, and the other vehicle was empty. A paramedic pronounced Mr. Simpson dead at 3:27 a.m.

An East Pittsburgh police officer spotted Mr. Paul and a woman walking away from the crash scene, according to a criminal complaint. Police said Mr. Paul smelled of alcohol and his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy.” They took him and the woman to Forbes Hospital.

Police wrote that based on the damage to the cars and marks on the roadway, they suspected Mr. Paul’s truck was speeding in the westbound lanes when it hit a guardrail and then went into the eastbound lanes, colliding with Mr. Simpson’s car.

Mr. Paul initially was charged with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while intoxicated, accidents involving death or personal injury, reckless endangerment and other offenses.