KDKA Investigates: Family Looking For Answers In 2017 Parkway North Death
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In October 2017, Scott Hirsh was about to change a flat tire off the Parkway North when he was struck and killed by an errant driver.
Sixteen months later, no charges have been filed.
"I feel like something ought to be done. That day my husband goes to the mortuary and this fella goes home," his wife, Cheryl Hirsh, said.
Witnesses say the 65-year-old driver was traveling about 65 miles an hour and never hit the brakes when he crossed over two lanes and onto the shoulder.
"I know he didn't set out to do this. I know it wasn't intentional. However, my husband didn't set out to not come home that night either," she said.
Two weeks ago the state police finally delivered its report to the District Attorney's office, which has informed the family it will not be prosecuting.
Cheryl and her son Christian are at a loss to understand why. Conditions were clear that day and the driver has a history of violations. In the five years prior, the driver had two speeding citations and guilty pleas to running a red light and operating an unsafe vehicle.
"Maybe not jail time, but not just, like, oh well, that happened and someone died and you're kind of the cause of it and then just let them walk away," Christian said.
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In a statement the DA's office said: "Our office conducted a thorough and extensive review of the evidence along with applicable case law, beyond that, the District Attorney does not want to comment on specifics until he has a chance to meet with the family."
Cheryl Hirsh wants to talk about keeping dangerous drivers off the road.
"We need to maybe have some red flags that can go up. If somebody has so many violations, let's look at them. Maybe at a certain age, driver testing needs to be done," Cheryl said.
In that meeting with District Attorney Stephen Zappalla, the Hirsh family will be looking for answers. They want to know if there will be no prosecution in this case, what steps can be taken to prevent tragedies like it in the future?
