Allegheny County police have announced charges against a 29-year-old Monroeville volunteer firefighter they say was driving 71 mph without lights or sirens when his car slammed into another vehicle, killing an 88-year-old driver who was simply trying to make a left turn. Broderick Balanti now faces homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving charges stemming from the October 21, 2025 crash on Haymaker Road in Monroeville.
According to CBS Pittsburgh, Balanti was responding to a fire call in his own personal vehicle when the crash happened, and Leroy Hart, the 88-year-old man he struck, was transported to an area hospital and later died from his injuries. County police determined Hart's cause of death was blunt force trauma from a motor vehicle collision, per that same report. Balanti was a volunteer firefighter for Monroeville Fire Company #4 who was allegedly answering a call in his personal vehicle at the time, according to WTAE.
Seconds Separated Dispatch From Impact
The timeline investigators laid out is brutally tight. The fire call to Balanti was dispatched at 6:21 p.m., and the crash between Balanti and Hart occurred just five minutes later, at 6:26 p.m., WTAE reports. Balanti was heading north on Haymaker Road while Hart was heading south, and Hart crossed in front of Balanti at the light while attempting to turn left onto McGinley Road when Balanti's vehicle struck his.
Vehicle technology data cited in the station's report showed Balanti was traveling 71 mph one second before impact, on a stretch of Haymaker Road posted at just 35 mph. The same account states Balanti did not engage his brakes until that moment. Monroeville Volunteer Fire personnel are not equipped with blue lights on their personal vehicles, the outlet notes, and Balanti was driving without lights or sirens at the time of the crash.
What Pennsylvania Law Actually Requires
Pennsylvania law does permit volunteer firefighters to equip one personal vehicle with up to two flashing or revolving blue lights, usable only while traveling to or at the scene of a fire or emergency call, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. But that same statute makes clear those lights do not relieve a driver of the duty to drive with due regard for everyone's safety, nor do they exempt a driver from the vehicle code. Separately, state law defines reckless driving as operating a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property, per the Pennsylvania General Assembly's criminal code.
State law also spells out what drivers must do near an emergency response area: use a lane not adjacent to it when possible, or, if that's impossible, illegal or unsafe, slow to at least 20 mph below the posted limit, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Causing a death while violating that rule can carry a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to other penalties under the same statute.
A Recurring Danger for Responders
Firefighter vehicle crashes are a persistent hazard nationally. More than 270 firefighters and emergency responders have died over the past two decades in accidents involving their vehicles, according to Firehouse. Pennsylvania has seen other recent tragedies tied to emergency response, including a separate crash in Berks County that killed two firefighters, after which a 26-year-old New York man was charged with homicide by vehicle, DUI and other offenses, as reported by WGAL.
Hart's death adds Monroeville to the list of Pennsylvania communities grappling with the risks posed when responders rush to emergencies.
