Moon police have issued an arrest warrant for a Mt. Lebanon man who they say fatally struck a worker trimming trees near the Sewickley Bridge in November.
Hampartsoum “Henry” Nazarian, 65, was charged Tuesday with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person and a half-dozen traffic violations in connection with the incident, court records show.
Nazarian was not in custody as of Wednesday afternoon and an attorney’s name was not listed in court records. Moon police did not reply Wednesday to requests for comment.
A criminal complaint filed in the case said Nazarian drove a minivan across the Sewickley Bridge, turned left onto University Boulevard and then tried to change lanes just after 9 p.m. Nov. 7. The posted speed limit in the area is 45 mph, but the complaint said at least four signs in the area indicated it was a work area.
When a truck would not allow Nazarian to change lanes, Nazarian told police he sped up to try to get in front of the truck, the complaint said. That’s when he struck Tyler Drake, 24, a Richardson Tree and Landscape worker who was trimming trees. Nazarian told police the sun was in his eyes shortly before he struck Drake.
Drake was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died about four hours later, the complaint said.
The complaint said the distance between the Sewickley Bridge and where Nazarian struck Drake was 2,949 feet, or more than a half-mile. Video evidence showed Nazarian covered the distance in 27 seconds, meaning he was driving an average of 74 mph, the complaint said.
When Nazarian sped up, police used video analysis to determine that he was driving between 98 mph and 105 mph approximately a quarter-mile before impact, the complaint said.
The driver of a vehicle behind the truck told police that he saw the truck and Nazarian’s minivan speeding and “jockeying for position” before the collision, with both motorists driving “aggressively.”
Nazarian’s minivan suffered heavy damage and three road cones were lodged underneath the engine area of the vehicle’s chassis, the complaint said. Police said they found Drake’s brown leather boots and work gloves 35 feet behind the vehicle.
