Top officials met yesterday to review the investigation into the deaths of a man and two of his children whose minivan was struck by a runaway industrial wood chipper, an indication that a decision is close on whether criminal charges will be filed.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., county police Superintendent Charles Moffatt and Northern Regional Police Chief T. Robert Amann were among those who convened in Mr. Zappala's office at noon for an hourlong meeting.

Spencer Morrison, 37, of Cranberry, and two of his 4-year-old triplet children, Alaina and Garret, were killed April 13 on Route 8 in Richland when a 5,000-pound chipper detached from a dump truck and struck their van.

Ethan Morrison, the surviving sibling, remains in critical but stable condition at Children's Hospital.

Investigators have been examining the coupling between the truck and the chipper. They also have executed search warrants on dump truck driver Bradley Demitras, 34, of Pine, to seize medical information and to determine if he was speaking on a cell phone at the time of the accident.

Mr. Demitras has told investigators he had taken the prescription painkiller Percocet twice on the day of the 5 p.m. accident.