Driver charged in March crash that killed pedestrian on I-70
A Westmoreland County man was charged Thursday with striking and killing a pedestrian on Interstate 70 in Canton Township in March, and accused of continuing to drive another 46 miles back to his house near Irwin without stopping or notifying authorities.
State police said Anthony Joseph Pugliano was driving east on I-70 with three other people in his SUV when he struck 46-year-old Timothy Booker of Avella on the highway near the Chestnut Street interchange shortly before 4 a.m. March 8.
A tractor-trailer driver who came upon Booker’s body lying on the highway and called 911 to report the incident, although it was not immediately clear how the incident happened or why the victim was crossing the interstate.
Troopers found pieces of Pugliano’s SUV near Booker’s body, including a driver’s side mirror and front fender that identified the vehicle as a Jeep Grand Cherokee and had a partial vehicle identification number, according to court documents. Police said that information was used to identify the vehicle, and they reviewed surveillance video shortly before the crash showing a vehicle matching the SUV involved in the crash driving through Wheeling while heading east toward Washington.
Through those videos, police identified the license plate on the vehicle and were able to match it and the VIN to Pugliano’s registration. Troopers interviewed Pugliano and two of the three passengers, all of whom told police they thought they hit a deer.
According to court documents, Pugliano described the incident as an “incredible impact” and it was “dark as hell,” but he and the others agreed that there was nowhere to pull over despite numerous exits and pull-off areas between the Chestnut Street interchange and their home in Hempfield Township nearly an hour away.
Pugliano’s wife, Dena, told police she wiped down the SUV with yellow cloths after they arrived home and then she threw them in the trash, although investigators were able to retrieve them.
Less than seven hours after the incident, the Puglianos filed a claim through their insurance company explaining that they had hit a deer before dropping the SUV off at a collision shop for repairs, according to court documents. Police said the collision happened on an elevated part of the highway with clear sight-lines and no trees around, making it unlikely that a deer “jumped out” in front of the vehicle, as Pugliano allegedly wrote in the insurance claim.
Pugliano, 59, was arraigned Thursday by District Judge John Bruner on felony charges of accident involving death and filing a fraudulent insurance claim, along with several traffic citations. He was released on $250,000 unsecured bond while awaiting his preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 1 at 9:30 a.m.