Penn Hills man accused of driving through protesters last summer pleads guilty

A Penn Hills man accused of plowing through a group of protesters with his car last summer pleaded guilty Wednesday in Allegheny County Court to assault and related offenses.

As part of a plea deal, David Fiori Jr., 63, admitted to three counts of simple assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of reckless driving, according to online court documents.

Charges of accidents involving death or personal injury, attempted aggravated assault, an additional count of recklessly endangering and several traffic violations were withdrawn.

Penn Hills police filed the charges on July 16, the day after a planned protest along Saltsburg Road in the municipality.

Fiori had twice driven his silver Hyundai through the protest near the intersection of Saltsburg and Stotler roads striking one protester in the arm with the passenger side mirror, and narrowly missed others, according to the criminal complaint.

The person who was struck declined medical treatment, court documents read.

Shortly after driving through the protesters, Fiori turned his car around and drove in the opposite traffic lane, passing multiple cars and then drove back through the crowded intersection before leaving the scene.

Officers in the area moved the protesters onto the sidewalk.

Police were able to locate Fiori, who told police that he “did something really (expletive) stupid” and could not explain why other than he got “worked up,” the complaint reads.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 25.