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State police continue to investigate South Strabane chase, crash

2 min read

Nasstylejah Wilkerson

State police are continuing to investigate a chase early Friday afternoon that ended when the vehicle being pursued crashed into a water tanker on Route 19 at Racetrack Road in South Strabane Township.

Online court records show that one of the passengers, Nasstylejah Wilkerson, 21, of Houtzdale, Clearfield County, is wanted on a state probation violation and was listed on a website as a most wanted absconder for failing to report to probation officers.

He was found guilty in a nonjury trial of charges including firearms violations, drug possession and fleeing or eluding police filed against him by Pittsburgh police stemming from a December 2015 incident. He was sentenced to two to four years in prison, as well as three years of probation, on those charges. He also was identified by police as a suspect in an August 2015 shooting on Shannon Avenue in Washington, but those charges were withdrawn.

Lt. Steven Driscoll, patrol section commander for Troop B headquartered in Washington County, said a gun was found in the vehicle in which Wilkerson was a passenger, but he would not specify what type it was. Driscoll did say that the gun was not legally possessed.

Driscoll said the conditions of the three occupants of the sport utility vehicle have been upgraded from critical. The driver of the vehicle that was being pursued, Deja Weaver, 18, of Pittsburgh, Wilkerson and an unidentified 17-year-old were all flown to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

State police said the incident began at 12:09 p.m. when a trooper who was on his way to assist a disabled motorist on Interstate 79 north spotted a Dodge Nitro being driven erratically, weaving in and out of traffic just south of the Houston exit.

The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, but police said the driver fled at a high speed, getting off at the Houston exit and turning right onto Route 519 in North Strabane Township.

The vehicle then got onto Route 19 south. Weaver then apparently tried to make a right onto Racetrack Road but was unable to and crashed into the tanker. Police said the SUV had been going more than 90 mph.

Driscoll said police are awaiting the outcome of toxicology tests and an accident reconstruction report.

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