Morning Roundup: Squirrel Hill tunnel crash snarls traffic, man found shot in Stanton Heights

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, March 29, 2023:

Parkway East traffic snarled

A multivehicle crash inside the Squirrel Hill tunnel has snarled traffic on the Parkway East.

The crash in the outbound direction was reported about 7:45 a.m., PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said.

The outbound lanes of the tunnel are closed, and traffic is being forced to exit just before the tunnel. It was not known when the outbound lanes would reopen.

Inbound traffic, which had been stopped, was flowing again before 9 a.m., according to PennDOT traffic cameras.

Man found shot in Stanton Heights

Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was found shot in Stanton Heights early Wednesday.

According to police, officers responded to the area of Stanton Avenue and McCabe Street shortly after 12:30 a.m. for reports of a man banging on doors saying he was shot.

Police searched the area and found the man in the backseat of a vehicle heading to a hospital. The man had been shot in the face and arm.

The man was in critical condition when medics took him to the hospital, where he was expected to undergo surgery.

Police were processing evidence and working to determine where the man had been shot.

Bellevue decertifies fire department

Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to decertify the borough’s volunteer fire department, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported.

“The problems have existed for quite some time that we have not been able to address as a council,” Councilmember Sabreena Miller said. “We’ve not been able to address in general, which has led to this point.”

Heidi Cummings, president of the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Company, responded to council’s action on the company’s Facebook page.

According to Cummings’ post, they did not know ahead of time that council would be considering such an action.

“We are reeling. We are completely numb,” she wrote. “You want to see big tough men break down and cry? Come swing by our firehouse.

“These community council members need to take accountability for what they do. With zero public safety experience, they use their power to negate resources that they don’t even begin to understand the depth of.”