Police identify man killed in Waynesburg crash
An elderly man was killed in a one-car crash in Waynesburg on Tuesday afternoon and police have discovered what might have led to the crash.
Police Chief Tim Hawfield said Wayne S. Byrne, 87, of Waynesburg was pronounced dead at the scene by a deputy Greene County coroner.
Hawfield said the crash occurred around 3:10 p.m. when Byrne’s car, a 1989 Mercury Sable, traveled through the intersection of Seventh Street and Woodlawn Avenue and then struck an embankment. The car then overturned and landed upside down in Jackson Run Creek, police said.
Hawfield said that investigators discovered that the brake lines of the car were in disrepair and may have caused a mechanical malfunction that resulted in the crash. He added that the specific cause of death for Byrne remains pending an autopsy to be conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht.
Hawfield said a passenger in Byrne’s car, Gene G. McMillan, also of Waynesburg, suffered serious injuries in the crash.
McMillan was flown from the scene by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., where Hawfield said he remains in critical condition.
Police are continuing to investigate the crash.