Driver to stand trial for Route 31 crash that killed Mt. Pleasant couple
A Somerset County man accused of running a red light on Route 31 in Bullskin Township before crashing into a car and killing two people in 2021 waived all charges to court in his vehicular homicide case.
Thomas Edward Wiencek was scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon in Fayette County Central Court to face homicide by vehicle and other charges in connection with the Aug. 16, 2021 crash that killed a Mt. Pleasant couple.
Wiencek, 62, of Jenner Township, was driving east on Route 31 when he allegedly went through at red light at Route 982 and crashed into another vehicle, state police said. The driver of the other vehicle, 70-year-old Lee Roy Welker, died at the scene while his wife, Diane S. Welker, 69, who was in the passenger seat, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital where she died.
According to court documents, another motorist who witnessed the crash told state police the traffic light was red when Wiencek drove through it, and surveillance video from a nearby business confirmed that account.
State police filed charges in March and arrested Wiencek on June 3. Wiencek is facing two counts each of homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, all of which he waived to court before his preliminary hearing Tuesday. He is free on $100,000 unsecured bond while awaiting trial.