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Police: Man Driving Above 80 MPH Before Killing 3 In Chase

PITTSBURGH (AP/KDKA) - Police say a Pennsylvania man charged with killing a family of three while leading police on a Thanksgiving Day chase was driving more than 80 miles per hour.

Twenty-three-year-old Demetrius Coleman has been held on three counts of third-degree murder after a hearing Friday in Pittsburgh.

An accident reconstructionist has testified that Coleman was driving at least 82 to 84 miles per hour.

Authorities say Coleman and the owner of the car had been selling heroin before East McKeesport police stopped him for a traffic violation.

He allegedly sped away and crashed into another car in neighboring North Versailles, killing David Bianco, his fiancée, Kaylie Meininger, and her 2-year-old daughter, Annika.

Family members openly wept in the courtroom, wearing shirts that displayed pictures of the victims.

"I don't know if you ever get over the death of a son, or a daughter. Its just something that, I suppose when time goes by it helps a little.  I don't think its something you get over," Family attorney Bert Beier said.

The family is suing police for making the chase. Beier questions whether police should have pursued the dangerous chase at all.

"Apparently they made the decision on the fly. Seems to me they would have training on that, but we'll find that out I suppose," he said.

Beier also questioned why none of the officers' dash cameras were working on the day of the accident.

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(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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