PITTSBURGH — A Moon Township man is facing a long list of charges after Pittsburgh police say video shows him drag racing with another car, before a violent crash in downtown Pittsburgh. That crash happened at the intersection of Second Avenue and Ross Street, not far from the County Jail, around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
“I think it’s really insane they were drag racing,” Brittany Humphries tells Channel 11.
We could see where a pole was ripped out of the concrete early Sunday morning by a Dodge Ram, barreling down Second Avenue, and blowing through a red signal at the intersection with Ross Street while drag racing. Some of the truck’s yellow paint was transferred to the base of the pole. Police say the driver, Gregory Duke, hit the pole so hard, the fire department had to free the wedged poll from the left side of the truck.
Second Avenue near Ross Street is a busy area, all times of the day and night. The First Street ‘T’ station is a block away, along with a nearby bike rental location.
“It’s pretty much crazy,” Humphries added. “There are a lot of pedestrians you need to think about downtown.”
“They always like to choose the worst places possible,” Tanya Heminger added.
Police say they heard the crash several streets away. When they got to the scene, officers said Gregory Duke was on the ground and he smelled like alcohol. According to a criminal complaint, Duke told police he had been to two bars on the South Side before the crash. Police say one look at Duke’s license, and they learned he was required to have an ignition interlock in his truck, because of a previous DUI charge, but he didn’t have one at all.
“Thank god he’s alive,” Humphries added. “Let’s hope he learns a lesson.”
Channel 11 has also learned Duke was charged at the end of October for racing on highways. He was released without paying a dollar.
“It’s not the thing to do,” Humphries says. “Be careful and think before you drink and drive.”
This comes a day after Channel 11 shared wild video of a Corvette racing through the city’s Chateau neighborhood, sparks flying, before it crashed into a building. Both people inside survived.
We asked Pittsburgh’s Police Chief about racing in the city. He said it’s dangerous, often goes under the radar and officers are usually responding as it’s happening. He says they will utilize their motor division or auto squad if need be.
“When will do obtain video evidence, we do follow up and we make sure they’re held accountable - even after the fact even if we can’t prevent it in the beginning,” Chief Scirotto tells Channel 11.
As for what happened downtown, Duke was given a summons, which means he was not booked into jail and did not have a mugshot taken.
He will be in front of a judge in early February.
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