Friends remember man tragically killed in crash by car being chased by police

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Friends of a well-known Fayette County man are remembering his life after he was tragically struck and killed by a man leading police on a high-speed car chase.

“My son called and said, ‘Dad I can’t believe what I just heard.’ and I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘Eddie Nickman was killed in an accident,’” Gary Colatch said.

Colatch is trying to deal with the difficult reality of never seeing his friend again.

Elias Nickman, affectionately known as Eddie, wasn’t just a friend. He was a father of three and a business owner.

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“He was over my house about three weeks ago. Our daughters were playing together,” Colatch said. “He always had a kind heart for everyone; always had a minute no matter how busy he was to just say hello and talk to you,” Colatch said.

Nickman’s Home Center is just one of the many businesses he owned.

“We got to know Eddie a long time ago through his hardware and carpeting company,” Colatch said.

Nickman’s life was tragically taken in a car crash earlier this week.

The driver, Dominique Kitchen, led police on a high-speed chase throughout Uniontown.

It happened as the Pennsylvania Attorney General Narcotics Enforcement Division were conducting an ongoing drug investigation.

According to the criminal complaint, Kitchen sped through multiple streets, failed to stop at numerous stop signs, failed to use proper turn signals and drove on the wrong side the road before ultimately crashing.

Nickman was in his truck when he was hit.

Uniontown police told us state police are investigating. The suspect is facing numerous charges, including criminal homicide.

“It’s hard to believe. You are sitting on your rocking chair on your porch one day talking to somebody, and the next day you find out thanks to some irresponsible person that they’re no longer with us,” Colatch said.

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