A man is on trial for third-degree murder and other charges in a Thanksgiving Day police chase that authorities said ended when he collided with a car that burst into flames, killing the driver, his fiancee and her toddler daughter.
Demetrius Coleman, 24, of Pittsburgh, is charged in Allegheny County in the November 2016 crash in North Versailles, about 2 miles from where police in East McKeesport had stopped him for making an illegal left turn.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that relatives of the victims gasped and began dabbing at their eyes Friday as they watched a video from a nearby restaurant showing Coleman's car speeding into the intersection and plowing into the side of the victims' car, which erupted into a fireball.
Killed were three members of a Pitcairn family on their way to a holiday dinner: David Lee Bianco, 29; Kaylie Meininger, 21, his fiancee; and their daughter Annika, 2.
Coleman is charged with three counts of third-degree murder, vehicular homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing police, driving under the influence and other charges.
“You're going to have to decide whether Mr. Coleman contemplated this fireball could happen and Mr. Coleman didn't give a damn,” he said.