Pittsburgh could pay $125,000 to settle litigation stemming from a fatal wreck in the Hill District.
A married couple, Henry Walker, 73, and Christine Williamson Walker, 68, of Wilkinsburg, died after a Port Authority bus struck them near Centre Avenue, University Drive and Allequippa Street, not far from the University of Pittsburgh Petersen Events Center.
The Walkers had just gotten off the bus when the accident occurred in October 2015. A private SUV first hit Mr. Walker, who was in a wheelchair, and the bus drove over both victims as Ms. Walker tried to help him, according to the city and court documents.
About a year later, the Port Authority of Allegheny County board agreed to a $450,000 settlement with the Walkers’ estates. Their complaint alleges negligence by the Port Authority, SUV driver Joelann Marie Tyler and the city, which maintains the intersection.
Legislation that council introduced Tuesday would pay the estates a total of $125,000 to resolve the city’s portion of the litigation. A council vote is expected this month.
Attorney Alan Perer, who represents daughters Desiree Williamson and Dorothy Williamson, said the women want “to receive justice for the death of their parents.”
“But they also really wanted the city to make this intersection safe so it wouldn’t happen to anybody else. That’s exactly what ultimately was done,” Mr. Perer said. Desiree Williamson is administratrix for the estates.
Yvonne Hilton, an attorney for the city, declined comment pending a final settlement. Mr. Perer said recent improvements at the intersection include crosswalks, a left-turn arrow and pedestrian signals.
That work is “one of the reasons the family was able to settle with the city,” he said, later adding: “It’s almost certain that there’ll never be an accident like the one that our clients’ parents went through.”
The complaint alleged dangerous conditions at the intersection had “created a reasonably foreseeable risk” of injuries and death. Problems included a conflict between pedestrians and turning vehicles, along with a lack of adequate pavement markings, according to the litigation.
An insurance carrier for Ms. Tyler, the SUV driver, paid $200,000 to settle her portion of the civil case, court records show, although there was no admission of liability. The bus driver remains a Port Authority employee but now works in the revenue service maintenance department, spokesman Adam Brandolph said.
Adam Smeltz: 412-263-2625, asmeltz@post-gazette.com, @asmeltz.
First Published: April 10, 2018, 10:57 p.m.
