The 27-year-old man killed Monday when the car he was driving east on Interstate 376 crossed into oncoming traffic outside the Squirrel Hill Tunnel had been previously cited for speeding and reckless driving, court records show.
Burak Ulus, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to speeding and driving the wrong way in 2014, and pleaded guilty to failing to drive at a safe speed and obey traffic lights in 2015.
He also was also charged with reckless driving in 2015 but was found not guilty.
Mr. Ulus died after his car crossed through the no-traffic area on the outbound side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and struck a westbound car head-on as the other driver approached the tunnels about 8 p.m. Monday, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
He crossed into oncoming traffic immediately after he exited the tunnels, before the beginning of a concrete barrier that separates the lanes. Investigators have not said how fast Mr. Ulus was driving, but said he was on the wrong side for just a few seconds before the head-on collision.
The driver of the second car, Joyce Grimm, 60, of Penn Hills, was seriously injured and was in stable condition Tuesday, Trooper Melinda Bondarenka said. Ms. Grimm's family declined to comment.
Investigators have not determined whether Mr. Ulus intentionally crossed into oncoming traffic, Trooper Ryan Cohen wrote in a press release.
Trooper Bondarenka said police can't say exactly what led them to believe the incident may have been intentional, but said police labeled the crash an aggravated assault because of witness statements, physical evidence and Mr. Ulus' state of mind.
"There are a few more details to the story, but we can't release that right now," she said.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released a cause or manner of death for Mr. Ulus.
Mr. Ulus did not know Ms. Grimm and she appears to be a random victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Trooper Bondarenka said.
The investigation is continuing.
First Published: July 25, 2017, 2:54 p.m.
