Woman dies after being hit by car in Point Breeze

PITTSBURGH — A woman died after being hit by a car while walking in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood Wednesday morning.

Emergency crews were called to the intersection of South Dallas Avenue and Reynolds Street around 9 a.m.

Pittsburgh police said the woman later died at the hospital. Wednesday night, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the woman as Vira Petrakh, 51, of Carnegie.

According to detectives, she was knocked unconscious and not breathing after she was hit by a car while walking along Reynolds Street and South Dallas Avenue.

The area was blocked off for hours as police investigated what led up to the crash.

“It was pretty horrific to see this woman lying in the street with the paramedics, whoever you call them, valiantly trying to resuscitate her with CPR,” Gail Kusbit said.

Kusbit told Channel 11 that she won’t soon forget the unsettling image outside of her home.

“We were traumatized as neighbors,” Kusbit said. “Others were asking what had happened. People were concerned.”

Detectives said the driver stayed on scene and was cooperating with officers.

Kusbit saw the immediate aftermath of the crash and saw the driver get out of a jeep that was later towed away.

“Whoever it was, pulled over and parked and left it there,” said Kusbit.

Kusbit has lived at the corner of Reynolds Street and South Dallas Avenue for 30 years and said she’s almost been hit more than once walking at the intersection.

“If you’re a pedestrian, this is the most dangerous, right in front of my house here,” she said.

Kusbit told Channel 11, drivers are reckless.

“Typically in the morning, they’re speeding. They’ll run red lights all the time. I saw a school bus run a red light once,” she said. “Just be more careful. Slow down.”

Police haven’t said if the driver was speeding. That’s part of the investigation.

Cardboard hearts were tied around a telephone pole by the crash site in memory of the woman who lost her life.

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