SHALER (KDKA) – Saturday morning’s freezing rain caused many accident, and in one case, sent a salt truck barreling into a house.

It happened around 6:30 a.m. when a salt truck was coming down Weaver Drive in Shaler Township.

The driver said he was “along for the ride” as the truck hit a patch of ice and slipped, then flipped over into someone’s home.

Firefighters from the Elfinwild department were on the scene.

“He slid down the hill, he said he was along for the ride, he said there was nothing he could do, but just go with the ride,” said Elfinwild Fire Chief Chuck Coyle. “He said he tried to stop and couldn’t do it, roads were just covered in ice.”

The homeowner, Jim Friend, was inside. He said he heard a loud crash and then found the truck in the family room.

“I heard a really large boom, I thought maybe a tree or something, couldn’t imagine what it was,” he said.

The homeowner was not injured, nor the was the driver.

The truck caused quite a bit of damage, knocking in the walls.

It’s unclear still exactly how much the damage is worth.

Pittsburgh Police were also assessing the damage caused by a car that spun out of control on an ice-covered Fallowfield Avenue in Beechview.

Neighbors say at least nine parked cars were damaged before the silver Toyota came to rest.

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PennDOT is replacing more than a dozen bridges in Allegheny County.

It is part of a nearly $900 million project to fix deficient bridges.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the 14 bridges to be replaced include three Saxonburg Boulevard bridges, one in Shaler Township and two in O’Hara Township.

• Center Street in White Oak
• Streets Run Road in Baldwin Borough
• Gibsonia Road in West Deer
• Guys Run Road in Harmar
• Bull Creek Road and Bakerstown Road in Fawn
• Pine Creek Road in Shaler
• Piney Fork Road in South Park
• Monongahela Road in Forward
• Thompson Run Road in Wilkins
• Lafever Hill Road in Indiana Township

Combined, they carry about 66,000 vehicles on a typical day.

Another 39 bridges in the county are scheduled for replacement in the second and third years of the project.

For more information, visit:

• http://www.p3forpa.pa.gov/
• http://www.parapidbridges.com/

SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Shaler Township Police are asking the public for help in finding a missing man.

According to police, 52-year-old Joseph Kamon has not been seen or heard from since 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

He is described as 5-feet-6-inches tall, 220 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes.

Police say they found his vehicle near his place of employment on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

Crews searched the area but nothing turned up.

Anyone with information on Kamon’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Road crews are monitoring conditions overnight, ready to treat roads after a day that seemed to have a little of everything winter has to offer.

From freezing rain to snow, the Pittsburgh region dealt with some slick roads on Thursday.

By Thursday evening, most of the area was just dealing with rain, but then as 11 p.m. approached, temperatures dropped, switching over to a sleet-snow mix.

Joe Palumbo from PennDOT says crews are loaded with material and monitoring the roads for any signs of ice. He says treating them too early will mean the salt just gets washed away.

PennDOT is operating on 12 hour shifts, and there are full crews ready to make Friday morning’s rush as easy as possible.

KDKA’s John Shumway Reports:

Thursday brought us a storm with a multitude of personalities.

“It’s been a mixture of ice and snow and sleet and just rain,” said Angelo Pampena, of PennDOT.

It might have started as rain, but that rain fell on icy cold surfaces.

“It might be 34 right now, but anytime the water hits the block or the concrete, it tends to freeze up,” said Mike Gable, the director of Pittsburgh Public Works.

That is why Pittsburgh Police closed steep Wyoming Street on Mount Washington Thursday morning when the bricks glazed solid and made it impossible for vehicles to travel and treacherous for police on foot.

“Right now, we’re dealing with our high elevations, our brick and block stone, concrete streets, and obviously, our bridge decks,” said Gable.

Walking was not for the faint of heart.

“It’s very slippery. I’m probably not dressed for it. I have heels on, but the sidewalks are very slippery and treacherous. You better take your time or you will skate across the walks,” said Rosina Campbell, of Plum.

Despite crews being on the attack from the time the rain started falling, the initial wave of salt flowed away with the rain in some cases.

“We may treat the road and it may wash off, and by the time we get back to it, it may freeze again,” said Pampena.

That appears to be what happened on Route 8 in Shaler Township Thursday morning, causing a number of accidents on what amounted to black ice.

Four-car accident on Route 8 in Shaler. (Photo Credit: Rob Hopson/KDKA)

Then came the snow, flakes the size of half dollars covering and coating everything in their path. But it was over in a matter of minutes, leaving road crews to wait for the next wave tonight with a countdown to Friday morning’s rush hour.

“It looks like we’re going to have an opportunity to have everything treated before the rush hour,” said Pampena.

According to KDKA-TV Meteorologist Dennis Bowman, the rain goes back to a mix tonight and then snow with less than 1 inch in the southwestern Pennsylvania area. Check here for the latest weather updates and advisories.

A total of 1-3 inches will fall near Interstate 80 and as much as 2-4 inches in the ridges to our east. The low will be near 22 degrees overnight.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Additional rape charges were filed today against a man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl.

The new charges followed heart-wrenching testimony from the child who had to leave school today to go to court.

Additional charges have been filed against 44-year-old Christopher Morris of South Carolina, who is charged with sexually assaulting her numerous times.

“He’s taken her innocence, her childhood, her trust away,” said the girl’s stepmother.

In court, the girl testified saying, “I was in the shower and my private part started bleeding. He messed with it … and said ‘Don’t tell anyone.'” She later added, “He made me touch his private parts. He said I had to.”

Morris was a friend of the family, staying with them in Shaler at the time of the alleged assault.

Morris is accused of raping the girl while staying with them.

“I am beyond angered, I am beyond hurt, my whole body shakes, my heart is broken,” the stepmother said.

In a written confession from Morris, he said “I touched her, I had genital contact.” He also said “I was acting as a sex-ed teacher.”

When asked by KDKA’s Paul Martino if Morris raped the girl, he said “No sir, I don’t believe I did.”

Morris is in the Allegheny County Jail on $125,000 cash bond.

He is expected to be back in court April 9.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Authorities are investigating a house fire that left one man dead Friday night in Shaler Township.

The flames engulfed the home on Seavey Road just after 6 p.m.

Smoke and flames could be seen pouring from the home. The fire may have started on the porch.

Crews had trouble putting out the flames because some of the hydrants were frozen.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause. A forensics team was also called to the scene.

The name of the victim has not been released at this time.

Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — One woman is dead and two other women were hurt in a three-vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon in Shaler Township.

The crash happened around 4:30 p.m. in the 3100-block of Route 8 between Elfinwild Road and Burchfield Road.

“It’s a heavily traveled road, it’s a 40 mile per hour speed zone here, and we do have our share of crashes on this road,” said Lt. Sean Frank, of Shaler Township Police. “It’s an undivided highway, so there’s no barrier between the lanes.”

According to first responders, a black Toyota – driven by the victim – for unknown reasons apparently crossed from the southbound lanes into northbound traffic and collided with a Subaru SUV. At that point, a third car was struck as well.

“We have one fatality here, a 72-year-old female. We have a 55-year-old female that was transported to Allegheny General Hospital. The hospital reports her to be in serious condition,” said Lt. Frank.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office now identifies the woman killed in the crash as 72-year-old Janice Manuel of Allison Park.

The third driver, in a red Hyundai, suffered only minor injuries. She remained on scene, talking with first responders and investigators.

The second drivers injuries are not considered life-threatening.

There’s no word yet on what caused the crash. Allegheny County Police are investigating.

Route 8 had to be closed down to traffic for about four hours as officials investigated and crews cleared the scene. It has since been reopened.

Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Police and the FBI are searching for a suspect following a bank robbery Friday afternoon in Shaler Township.

The robbery happened around 2:45 p.m. at the First Commonwealth Bank in the 900-block of Saxonburg Boulevard.

According to police, the suspect passed a note to the teller but did not threaten anyone or show a gun.

He is described as a white male. He was last seen wearing a dark sweatshirt, light-colored pants, a baseball cap and sunglasses.

He got away on foot.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to get contact Shaler Township Police by dialing 911.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with a bank robbery last week in Shaler Township.

According to Shaler Township Police, 28-year-old Sean Hein of Sharpsburg is facing multiple charges in the April 17 robbery at the First Commonwealth Bank on Saxonburg Boulevard.

Police said the suspect passed a note to the teller but did not threaten anyone or show a gun. He got away on foot.

Hein is charged with robbery, terroristic threats, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possessing instruments of crime.

He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Firefighters are battling a large brush fire in Shaler Township.

It broke out Friday afternoon on College Park Road.

It’s unclear what started the fire.

Stay with KDKA for more information.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Children were learning about bike safety over the weekend in Glenshaw.

Etna, Millvale and Shaler police held their annual Bike Rodeo at Kiwanis Park.

There was an obstacle course, where the kids learned the rules of the road.

They also had bike and helmet inspections.

“This is a wonderful thing the community’s doing to help the children get tested for the helmets, test their bikes, just make sure there’s safety, everything’s in place. We come out to just be a part of the community,” said father Phil Gunde.

The kids got some treats as well, and there was a bike raffle.

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O’HARA TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — More communities are hunting for clever ways to disguise cell phones towers.

How about one crafted to look like a church steeple, a flag pole or even a tree?

A proposed amendment to a zoning ordinance in O’Hara Township asks for cell towers that would use “stealth” technology to help the towers blend in.

For example, many people never realize the steeple at the nearby Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church is also a cell phone tower.

“Most of them don’t even realize there’s a cell tower here,” said Cilla Bamford, the church’s finance administrator. “You can’t tell from looking at it.”

She says the church has had the tower since the mid-90’s and uses the money it gets in return to help pay the bills.

A bell tower at Mount Royal Cemetery in Shaler is also a cell tower.

And back in Fox Chapel, there are a few towers designed to resemble trees, complete with a texture on the poles to look like bark.

“It really doesn’t look that much like a tree, but it looks enough like a tree,” said Huck Vogel, who is vice-president on O’Hara’s council.

They want to avoid a bunch of towers popping up that don’t blend in, by beefing up their ordinance.

Companies such as Larson Camouflage in Arizona can create cell phone tower disguises ranging from pine trees to flag poles, palm trees to cacti.

Vogel says he’s impressed with many of the ideas these companies can do, but not all.

“The thing that we’re worried about, I’ve seen pictures of facilities out East that basically look like a water tank sitting on top of a telephone pole, and we don’t want to have that,” Vogel said.

O’Hara Council could vote on the proposed changes to the zoning ordinance next month.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – Students at Shaler Area High School were evacuated and then dismissed from school early Wednesday as a precaution due to a suspicious device that was found on school property.

According to school and police officials, a suspicious device was found in the high school’s auditorium on Sunday. After the district was made aware of the find, administrators called police and the investigation began.

“There was a device found,” said Lt. J. Sean Frank, of Shaler Township Police. “It appeared it could have been an explosive device. It was found on Sunday afternoon at an event that was being held at the school.”

The device was a three-inch plastic tube, which is now being examined by the Allegheny County Bomb Squad.

“It was a small plastic device that had a piece of duct tape on it, probably three inches in length, maybe one inch in diameter,” said Lt. Frank.

The evacuation began around 12:30 p.m. and the buses were then called in for the early dismissal.

Five bomb-sniffing dogs were sent inside the school ono Wednesday afternoon, but nothing was found. The building has been deemed safe and classes will go on as planned on Thursday.

“We are all parents as well; we’re going to try to get to the bottom of this,” Lt. Frank said. “The school is investigating their people, we will investigate the possibility of a crime occurring here.”

Shaler High School released this statement:
“The safety and security of our staff and students is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with local law enforcement agencies who are conducting the ongoing investigation of this incident to ensure that goal.”

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SHALER (KDKA) – Police in Shaler Township have issued a warning after some recent bear sightings in the area.

According to police, a bear cub was spotted near Route 8 and Mt. Royal Boulevard Tuesday morning.

We all have our morning routines, but for Dawn Rice it was anything but routine after she let her dog, Mason, out into the backyard.

“It had to be for a few seconds because i turned and walked away from the dog and started making coffee, and I heard him bark so I wanted to make sure he wasn’t barking at the neighbors,” said Rice.

But the object of Mason’s objections was a black bear.

“Came out and saw it climbing up into the tree, so I hurried up and got him inside,” Rice said.

A closer examination of the tree and the claw marks are evident.

“He was already up but clambering his way further up, trying to get high… when I saw him,” said Rice. “Getting away from the dog, I assume.”

She says the dog and bear were about the same size, but the bear was a lot wider.

“I mean he’s only about 80 pounds; I’ll bet it was double his weight,” Rice said.

Rice’s call to police comes just a couple days after a bear was seen in Etna, and a bear was sighted near Shaler High School, too.

Someone also snapped a photo of a bear at Parkwood Presbyterian Monday night, not far from Rice’s home.

Conservation Officer Tom Kline listened to Rice’s story and told her it’s probably a one and done thing.

“We’ve had sightings in McCandless, or as far north as Cranberry,” said Officer Kline. “It’s that time of year where yearlings are getting booted out of their den and they are going to travel and find their own territory, so they are traveling through this corridor here.”

As long as the bear is traveling, Officer Kline says there’s no reason to set up a trap like they used in Monroeville. He says a sighting is not an issue as long as the bear isn’t given a reason to stick around like accessible garbage or open food-caked grills.

“We’d like the bear to be on its way and avoid all conflicts with humans and animals,” says Officer Kline.

On Monday, a mother bear and her cub were spotted in a parking lot on Pleasant Valley Road in Trafford, Westmoreland County (pictured above).

For more information on bear safety, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website here: http://bit.ly/1i1IOzh

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – One person was killed in a crash on Route 28 Thursday afternoon.

The crash happened in the southbound lanes near Millvale.

Two people were thrown from a red BMW convertible. One of those victims died.

Two other people were injured.

Traffic was jammed for hours in that area after the crash.

The road fully reopened just after 10:30 p.m.

The victim has not yet been identified.

Stay with KDKA for more information.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA/AP) — Police officers and firefighters were called to a road in Shaler Township early Wednesday morning for some severe flooding.

Little Pine Creek was overflowing along the 2500- and 2600-blocks of Autumnwood Drive around 12:15 a.m. The flooding caused damage to at least 15 homes along the street.

Ten of those homes had a few inches of water in the basement and garage areas.

To add to the flooding concerns, several trees were uprooted and fell into the creek.

“All of the sudden, I heard a loud crack go off,” said homeowner Jeff Kosky. “I looked over in the neighbor’s backyard and I saw a 20-foot tree topple over. About three seconds later, I heard another snap. The water went from ankle-level deep to about mid-shin deep in about 30 seconds.”

The fallen trees caused the creek to overflow even more into people’s backyards. But most of the flooding inside the homes was blamed on backed up sewage lines.

John Petrancosta spent his afternoon washing away the dirt and debris brought in from the overnight flooding. He’s lived on on Autumnwood Drive for almost 45 years.

“I’m 73 and past point in life where I wanna deal with this,” he said.

Fortunately, the inside of his house wasn’t damaged.

“I just have the damage I have here, the rocks and part of the wall gave way,” Petrancosta said. “I think it got hit by the tree.”

Diann Ranallo lives next door. Her laundry room was flooded by four inches of water, which has now receded. Now, she’s cleaning up.

“In Ivan 2004, I had four feet, so four inches isn’t so bad,” she said.

There were no injuries reported and no evacuations were needed.

Firefighters did go door-to-door asking how many people were inside each home and if they needed a place to stay.

Once the rains stopped, the water started to recede.

Thousands of people, many in Allegheny and Beaver counties, were without power Wednesday morning after the heavy rains toppled trees and caused flash flooding across southwestern Pennsylvania.

More than 7,000 customers lost power at the height of Tuesday night’s storm, which delayed the Pittsburgh Pirates game more than 90 minutes.

Duquesne Light expected to restore power to its customers by late Wednesday afternoon.

A record amount of rain was recorded Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Airport, with a total of 1.44 inches. The previous record was 1.38 inches.

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(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Part of Route 8 had to be shut down Thursday afternoon after a bad accident.

Officials say a vehicle crashed on the road near Glenshaw Crossing in Shaler.

Allegheny County officials say the accident also brought live wires down on the roadway.

Route 8 between Pennview to the Clenshaw Crossing was closed in both directions for several hours, but is now reopened in both directions. Duquesne Light had to make repairs to a utility pole that was knocked down.

The driver wasn’t injured, but was certainly shaken up.

“We were driving from one job to another,” said van driver Bob Burkhart, “traveling … southbound on Route 8, heading to pick up a helper and a woman in the southbound lane, and she was a little bit over the white line, so I got over in the next lane and when I did that, my wheel caught the curb. And it just pulled me in a little bit further and before I knew it, the corner caught the pole and the van rolled over.”

Burkhart was able to pull himself out of the vehicle.

Traffic was rerouted onto Mt. Royal Boulevard and Butler Plank Road while the road was shut down.

Stay with KDKA for more information.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Part of Route 8 was shut down in both directions after a car crashed into a utility pole.

The crash left a section of Rt. 8 in Shaler closed since three in the afternoon between Pennview Street and Butler Plank Road.

Police say a car wrecked into a utility pole near Spencer Lane.

The pole was knocked down and some wires fell down onto the roadway.

“A lady got hit from behind and slammed into the pole which the pole, of course made our power go out,” Amy Henson said.

Amy Henson and her two daughters live nearby. They lost power due to the crash.

“So they’re working hard on the pole to try and fix it so hopefully they have it up and running by midnight like they said,” Henson said.

She took the kids to her parents house to cool down.

“It’s hot and the kids are miserable,” Henson said.

David Abt took his family out for most of the day.

“Home now, just trying not to open the refrigerator all that stuff might go bad,” David Abt said.

Several businesses also lost power, like Giant Eagle and Walgreens in Shaler.

They said they lost power for about an hour, but were able to resume normal business once Duquesne Light got the power turned back on.

Traffic was diverted to Mt. Royal Boulevard which runs parallel to Route 8.

Fortunately, there weren’t any major delays.

Only major delays for residents without power.

“Hopefully power goes on before we go to bed tonight so we are not too hot,” Abt said.

Two people were injured in this crash.

One of the people injured was taken to Children’s Hospital.

Their injuries are unknown at this time.

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SHALER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Police are asking for help from the public identifying a woman who they say used a credit card illegally.

According to Shaler Township Police, the woman is accused of using the card at several businesses in Ross Township and West View.

She was caught on surveillance video at the Wine and Spirits store in Ross Township.

(Photo Courtesy: Shaler Township Police)

Anyone who recognizes her is asked to call the Shaler Township Police Department at 412-492-2222 x422 or email them at police@shaler.org.

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GLENSHAW, Pa. (KDKA/AP) – A man has been charged with criminal homicide in the death of his girlfriend, who authorities allege was killed in a drunken fight and then buried in his yard.

Fifty-seven-year-old George Biegenwald of Glenshaw is charged in Allegheny County with homicide, evidence-tampering and abuse of a corpse in the death of 50-year-old Donna See of McKeesport, who had been missing since Aug. 14.

Authorities allege that after her head struck a dresser in his Shaler Township home, he left her to bleed out in a bathtub, stuffed her body in a basement refrigerator and finally buried her in the yard, using bleach to keep animals away.

Neighbors were shocked to learn of the news.

“You see him on a daily basis most of the time,” said neighbor Geoff Sachs, “and just never think somebody could do something like that.”

“We’re shocked,” he added. “A loss for words.”

When See was declared missing, police learned that she stayed with Biegenwald on weekends. Biegenwald denied knowing her whereabouts. He later confessed to meting her through an online dating service. He said they both drank a lot on Aug. 14 and then got in a fight.

“When he would drink, he was a completely different person,” said Sachs. “It’s just a shame.”

Biegenwald told police she jumped on his back, hitting him on the head with a back massager. When he threw her off, she hit her head on the corner of a bedroom dresser. Biegenwald said he tried to give her CPR and stop the bleeding, but she died after he put her in the shower. He moved the woman to her car, then put her in a basement refrigerator. Biegenwald said it took three days to dig the shallow grave behind his home.

Police retrieved her body from the grave Friday night. While she was buried, Biegenwald was seen partying with another woman. He reportedly got violent with her.

“There was a lady out here screaming, holding her face because she got into an argument with him,” said neighbor Dale Hayden.

Court documents don’t list an attorney who could respond to the charges; a message left at a number listed for Biegenwald wasn’t immediately returned.

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(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)