Man charged with DUI, killing man in early-morning crash in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — A pedestrian is dead after being hit by a vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Uptown area early Saturday morning.

A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson says officers were called to the intersection of Vine Street and Fifth Avenue in the Bluff neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. for the reported crash.

Upon arrival, first responders found a man in the road with a “significant head injury.” Medics took him to an area hospital in critical condition, where he died a few hours later.

The victim has not yet been identified.

Police have charged Kamal Prasad Upreti, 34, of Pittsburgh, in connection with the crash.

According to court records, police were driving on Fifth Avenue when they saw a pickup truck that had crashed into an excavator. They found a person lying inside the excavator who was bleeding and unconscious.

Soon after, two bystanders approached police with a third person, who they claimed was the driver. The person was detained and identified as Upreti.

Police allege that Upreti smelled slightly of alcohol and gave inconsistent information when being interviewed.

He allegedly showed signs of impairment and was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI.

Police say security footage from the area shows the pickup truck traveling south on Vine Street before stopping and turning left illegally onto Fifth Avenue.

The video reportedly shows the truck hitting the excavator and getting stuck on it. The driver then walks away, comes back and leaves again before being chased down by two bystanders.

Upreti is now charged with driving under the influence, accidents involving death or personal injury and failing to stop and give information or render aid.

Public safety officials say Upreti is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

Police requested that Upreti’s bond be denied, given the circumstances of the crash and a separate domestic incident, for which Upreti is currently on bond, court records show.

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