close

Pa. woman charged with texting before fatal crash

1 min read

NEW CASTLE (AP) – A Western Pennsylvania woman has been charged with text messaging while driving in connection with a crash earlier this month that killed a former volunteer fire chief.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 42-year-old Laura Gargiulo, of Volant, who also faces charges including homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter in the wreck that killed 68-year-old Daniel Gallatin on May 7.

Gallatin was the former chief in Scott Township, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Police obtained a search warrant for the woman’s phone records and determined she had a text message open at the time of the crash in which she rear-ended Gallatin’s motorcycle. He and the cycle were dragged under Gargiulo’s car on Route 956 about 1:30 p.m. that day.

Gargiulo faces a preliminary hearing Thursday and her listed phone number has been disconnected.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today