AAA hosts steering wheel lock giveaway

Published

7 hours ago

September 14, 2024

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Hyundai and Kia drivers know there have been problems over the past few years with car thefts.

On Saturday, AAA and three partners were in East Liberty to give out devices for Kia and Hyundai owners to help defend their cars.

It’s about providing a layer of protection for Hyundai and Kia owners. They armed those who showed up with steering wheel lock devices.

Ike Hamilton wouldn’t want his golden Hyundai gone.

“I want to protect my vehicle as well, so that’s why I’m here,” Hamilton said.

Yellow club-like locks are what AAA partnered with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Police to give out.

“They’ve been around for years. They are an effective deterrent,” Jim Garrity of AAA East Central said.

They stop people from getting behind the wheel and stealing these cars. It’s something Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto says has happened over 140 times since May of this year.

“It’s not organized crime,” Scirotto said. “They’re not stealing them for profit; they’re stealing them for fun.”

Scirotto said a lot of the culprits are young people. All parties involved in Saturday’s event said there are basic steps people can also take.

“Not leaving your keys in the car, not leaving your cars unlocked, is really important,” Scirotto said.

“It’s just one extra thing that these vehicle owners can do,” Garrity said.

And Ike Hamilton is going the extra mile.

“I’m spreading the word to everybody else who needs a club,” he said.

AAA says it has at least four more of these events planned over the next couple of months.

A list of planned future events is below:

White Oak: Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Washington: Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wexford: Oct. 23, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

McMurray: Nov. 18, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Locations for these events were not provided to KDKA-TV at the time of this report.

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Pittsburgh proposes a $500,000 payment to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

Published

14 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

Pittsburgh proposes a 0,000 payment to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh is seeking approval of a half-million-dollar payment to settle lawsuits over the collapse of a bridge into a ravine more than 2 1/2 years ago.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said Friday he had asked the Pittsburgh City Council to authorize a payment of $500,000, the full liability damage cap, to settle lawsuits filed on behalf those who were on the city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge when it fell Jan. 28, 2022, plunging a bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) into the Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle drove off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof. There were injuries but no one died.

The agreement needs approval from the council and a judge overseeing the case.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the action was a surprise but that they appreciated the city “accepting responsibility for allowing one of its bridges to collapse, and agreeing to pay its statutory limits to partially resolve this case,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Legal action against three engineering firms will continue, they said.

Federal investigators have said that the city didn’t adequately maintain or repair the bridge and failed to act on inspection reports, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs. City officials didn’t dispute the findings and cited creation of a new bridge maintenance division and a tripling of funding for maintenance and repairs.

A new bridge at the site 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of downtown Pittsburgh opened in December 2022.

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Arrest warrant issued for suspect accused of threatening people with a knife in downtown Pittsburgh

Published

21 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

Arrest warrant issued for suspect accused of threatening people with a knife in downtown Pittsburgh

Man accused of threatening people with knife

00:26

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A man who is wanted for making threats with a knife in Downtown Pittsburgh has a warrant out for his arrest.

According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, around 8 a.m. on Friday morning, Pittsburgh police were called to Penn Avenue and 10th Street for a reported dispute.

A bicycle officer arrived on the scene and saw a man running after another man and threatening to kill him.

The man making the threats was seen carrying a small knife and the officer was able to chase him down, take him to the ground, and into custody.

While police initially had the man in custody, they did not have victim information to prosecute the charges and were forced to release the suspect and investigate further.

The suspect was ultimately identified as 42-year-old Clarence Thomas who is now facing two misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, one charge of possessing instruments of crime, and simple assault.

As police investigated, they learned there was a second victim from the incident and were able to speak with both victims.

They were able to acquire an arrest warrant for Thomas as a result.

This is a developing story, stay with KDKA.com for the latest.

Patrick Damp

Patrick Damp is a web producer for CBS Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh native who grew up watching KDKA-TV, Patrick studied journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After half a decade in sports communication, Patrick decided to pursue his dream of working in journalism in his hometown and joined the CBS Pittsburgh team in 2019.

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