Man headed to trial for homicide by vehicle in deadly, 5-car crash in North Hills

A distracted dump truck driver who allegedly was taking part in a Facetime call when he triggered a deadly five-car crash in Pittsburgh’s North Hills is headed to court on charges including homicide by vehicle.

A judge Friday held a preliminary hearing for Franklin R. Simon, 33, of South Union, Fayette County, who police said was in the midst of 46-minute-long video call before the Aug. 4, 2023, crash that killed driver Cinnamon J. Gilch in Richland.

Simon will be arraigned in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Nov. 3, court records show.

Gilch, 53, of Gibsonia was trapped in the wreckage of her SUV shortly after the crash occurred around 1 p.m., according to a criminal complaint in the case. She died at the scene.

Police said in the complaint that Simon was driving a circa-1996 dump truck up to 55 mph that afternoon on William Flynn Highway, near the intersection with Krebs Drive.

The speed limit on that four-lane roadway, also known as Route 8, is 40 mph.

Two witnesses told police Simon was “looking down or otherwise distracted” right before the crash, the complaint said.

Attorney William Difenderfer, who represents Simon, told TribLive that Simon was not distracted and his phone was resting on the truck’s seat at the time of the crash.

Police said Simon’s personal cell phone indicated he was on the Facetime call at the time of the crash. Simon hit the brakes when he noticed traffic ahead. The truck he was driving then began to skid, first striking a Toyota SUV, police said.

Simon’s attorney said “faulty” brakes played a role in the crash. He told TribLive that Simon started to apply the brakes “at least 160 feet” before the first point of impact.

After Simon struck the Toyota SUV, the SUV careened into the rear of a nearby Jeep, the complaint said. Simon’s truck began rotating counter-clockwise, crossed into the highway’s northbound lane and struck Gilch’s vehicle.

The combined wreckage of the two vehicles then continued pushing across the road and was hit by a fifth vehicle, a red Chevrolet, police said.

Gilch’s SUV came to rest in the parking lot of a nearby business, according to the complaint.

The complaint said police later discovered Simon’s dump truck did have pre-existing damage to its brakes and other parts of the vehicle.

“The brakes of the truck were faulty — clearly, had the brakes worked, it would have minimized the impact,” Difenderfer told TribLive Saturday. “It’s a tragedy. But I think we have a good case.”