Man charged with attempted homicide in road-rage stabbing

MILLVALE, Pa. — A 60-year-old man was stabbed by another man during a road-rage incident in Millvale Tuesday morning.

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Police said the man arrived around 10:45 a.m. at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC with a stab wound to his right lung and a deep cut to his left thumb. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

WHAT POLICE SAY HAPPENED

The investigation determined that the victim was on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh’s Strip District when he and another motorist got into an argument, police said.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim, who is an architect, was picking up a “roll of drawings” from a business. When he returned to his vehicle to leave, the driver of a red truck beeped and shouted obscenities.

The driver of the red truck kept driving, but the victim followed. When the victim was asked why he followed, he told police he used his cellphone to take photos of the truck and its license plate.

At one point, when both vehicles were stopped, the truck’s driver, 68-year-old John Hoegerl, got out and kicked a door of the victim’s vehicle and spat on him before driving away, the complaint said.

The argument continued along Route 28 and into Millvale, then turned into a physical altercation after Hoegerl positioned his truck to prevent the victim from getting around his vehicle, the complaint said.

The 60-year-old victim told police he noticed the cut on his thumb after the altercation.

As the victim began driving to the hospital, he felt a sharp pain in his back, police said. He collapsed when he got out of his vehicle at Children’s Hospital.

The victim told investigators he didn’t notice a knife during the altercation.

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HOW POLICE TRACKED DOWN SUSPECT

Investigators went to the scene of the stabbing and found a blood trail, as well as the victim’s cellphone and glasses, according to the complaint.

Police searched the truck’s license plate number, which was found in a photo on the victim’s cellphone, to find Hoegerl’s address, the complaint said.

Hoegerl was taken into custody at his Millvale home. He told police the knife used in the attack was in his nightstand and that he tried to clean it, authorities said.

Hoegerl told police he stabbed the victim because he began striking him.

Hoegerl is charged with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

Cox Media Group