Judge delays Upper St. Clair fatal crash ruling
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An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge this morning delayed issuing a decision in the homicide by vehicle case against an Upper St. Clair man, saying that he was giving more time to both sides to establish the scientific value -- or lack of it -- of the data recorder in the crashed car.
Ryan Safka, 21, is charged in the deaths of David Rizzo Jr., 20, Tara Schulz, 18, and Derek Phillips, 20, all of Upper St. Clair. The three were backseat passengers in Mr. Safka's 2007 Dodge Caliber that crashed on the Parkway West just before 2 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2010.
The prosecution contends that the vehicle's event data recorder showed that Mr. Safka's car was traveling 106 mph five seconds before the airbags deployed.
The defense argues that there was no testimony that showed that the recorder was functioning properly or that it is a reliable piece of scientific evidence.
"I can find no Pennsylvania case law which permits this use" of the recorder in the case, Judge Jeffrey A. Manning said. "There is no precedent for introducing this into evidence."
That does not make it inadmissible, the judge continued, adding that there are appellate decisions in at least three states where the recorders can be relied upon.
The judge set Feb. 21 as the date for the case to resume.
First Published February 8, 2012 12:01 pm
