A 29-year-old man remained in critical condition Saturday after being struck by a vehicle while crossing McKnight Road near Nelson Run Road in Ross Township Friday night, according to a Ross Township police spokesperson. First responders performed CPR at the scene and managed to maintain the man's pulse before medics rushed him to Allegheny General Hospital.
The crash closed southbound McKnight Road between the Babcock Boulevard off-ramp toward West View and Millvale and Nelson Run Road for several hours Friday, according to WPXI. Both the Ross Township Police Department's traffic division and its detective division are investigating the incident, the outlet reported. Ross Township sits in Allegheny County, just north of Pittsburgh.
A separate account of a 2020 incident on a similar stretch of roadway, published Aug. 25, 2020, by CBS News Pittsburgh, described a man suffering critical injuries near Nelson Run Road and an Exxon station in the northbound lanes just before 9:30 p.m. That report said the man had leg, head and internal injuries. Police told the station he was not in a crosswalk and had jumped a jersey barrier, then turned back after spotting an oncoming car. The car swerved to avoid him but still struck him with its front end, police said.
Driver Died at Scene; Charges Unclear
The driver died at the scene, according to local reports. Officials had not publicly stated whether charges would be filed.
WPXI reported that the southbound lanes of McKnight Road were temporarily closed Friday night. The victim's identity had not been released as of that evening.
Part of a Troubling Pattern on McKnight Road
Friday's crash adds to a string of pedestrian-involved incidents along the same corridor in recent years. A man was struck and killed crossing McKnight Road in October 2024, according to CBS News Pittsburgh's reporting. A Pittsburgh-area teenager was struck and killed on McKnight Road in Ross Township this past July, WTAE reported, with investigators saying their inquiry indicated the teen was crossing the road when he was hit.
The pattern lines up with broader concerns raised by trauma specialists in the region. Allegheny Health Network's trauma team has reported a concerning upswing in pedestrian accidents across western Pennsylvania, according to CBS News Pittsburgh. Allegheny General Hospital trauma surgeon Dr. Alan Murdock told the station that eighty percent of people hit by cars are struck at night, and that fatalities occur in some of those cases.
The man's condition, the status of the police investigation and any further developments from Ross Township detectives had not been updated as of Saturday.
