Posted on 02/18/2006 4:52:10 AM PST by mcg2000
(photo linked from Pittsburgh Trib Review)
Police theorize that crash was deliberate Saturday
A mother and daughter from Swissvale died yesterday after their car sped down Allegheny Avenue, over an embankment and into the Ohio River along the North Shore.
Police said it appeared the driver deliberately steered into the river.
Cherise R. Johnston, 36, and her mother, Betty J. Johnston, 62, who resided together in an apartment on Smokey Wood Drive, were found dead in the back seat after divers and rescue workers spent six hours trying to locate and pull the car from the river.
Witnesses watched the car hop a curb between Heinz Field and the Carnegie Science Center around 10:30 a.m. yesterday. The car then appeared to purposely dodge a light post and aim directly for the river.
"There is a possibility that this is deliberate by the way the driver went down the hill and avoided the pole as opposed to going straight shot," said Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki.
Police said it was unclear who was driving. The women were found criss-crossed atop each other in the back seat of the car. Neither wore seat belts.
Officials believed the impact and initial rush of water may have pushed whomever was driving into the back seat.
The Allegheny County medical examiner's office reported that neither victim had a medical history to suggest cardiac problems or a seizure as the cause. There was no sign of suspicious trauma to either body. An autopsy was scheduled for today.
(Excerpt) Read more at postgazette.com ...
Anyone check to see if Teddy K's clothes are dry?
He swims quite well for a man of his age...and size.
Fat floats.
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