May 17, 2017 2 min read

A Washington man learned last week he was charged by Mt. Pleasant Township police with aggravated assault by vehicle and texting while driving in a March 10 head-on crash that seriously injured four people, including two children.

Mark Edward Richards, 25, of 160 Dairy Road, also is charged with careless driving, reckless driving, failure to stay in his lane and not having the vehicle inspected.

Police were called to the 1600 block of Millers Run Road (Route 50) for a two-vehicle crash. When Officer Amanda Brewer arrived, she provided care for an injured boy and girl in the back-seat of one of the vehicles. The children were flown to UPMC-Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The boy suffered a broken collarbone, while the girl had a broken leg.

Rusty Margaria, the driver of that vehicle, told police the other vehicle had crossed the center line. He told Brewer he tried to avoid the oncoming vehicle. Margaria and another passenger in his vehicle, Pete Pirillo, were taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Margaria had a broken collarbone. Pirillo’s injuries included a broken left hand and fractured ribs.

Richards, the driver of the vehicle that reportedly crossed the center line, told police he dozed off, which caused the crash. He was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment.

A volunteer firefighter who had been traveling behind Richards just before the crash told Brewer when he went to check on Richards, the Washington man said, “I shouldn’t have been texting.” Brewer talked with Richards at the hospital and asked him to sign a waiver of his rights. When she asked him if he had been texting, Richards said he had not. Brewer said Richards started to show her he had not been texting and asked what time the crash was reported. He then angled the cellphone so the officer could not see it, police said. Richards’ cellphone was taken into evidence and stored until police could obtain a search warrant.

After obtaining the warrant, the cellphone was given to Washington police Detective Dan Rush, who determined Richards got a text message from a woman seven minutes before the crash and replied to it. He then received another message five minutes before the crash, according to police.

Richards is scheduled for a June 1 preliminary hearing before District Judge Traci McDonald.