Week in Review: Wilkinsburg shooting, school zone speeders, Uber test track

Here’s a look back at some of the top stories of the week.

Suspect killed by police in Wilkinsburg

A Wilkinsburg man was fatally shot by a police officer after firing at Wilkinsburg police during a foot chase early Sunday. Romir Talley, 24, was the suspect who died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Allegheny County Police are investigating the incident that began just after 1 a.m., when Wilkinsburg police responded to a man brandishing a gun at Penn Avenue and Wood Street. The man, later identified as Talley, ran and police chased him, police said. Talley fired a handgun and was shot dead when a Wilkinsburg officer returned fire, authorities said. The officer is on standard administrative leave.

Westmoreland County Transit Authority rapidly growing

Staff at the Westmoreland County Transit Authority has grown by more than 600% over the last month as the agency continues to gear up for its takeover of bus and paratransit services Jan. 2.

Once primarily an administrative organization with 18 employees, the authority has transitioned to a full-time transit operator responsible for supervision, maintenance and driving vehicles for its bus and shared-ride service for low-income and elderly residents.

More than 100 drivers and other support staff have been added to the authority’s payroll, with another two dozen still expected to be hired in the coming weeks.

Allegheny County leads state in school zone speeders

Allegheny County leads the state in the number of traffic citations issued for speeding in school zones and illegally passing school buses, according to data collected by magisterial district courts statewide. Over the past five years, 18% of the 10,800 citations issued statewide for passing a school bus were from Allegheny County.

In 2018, 433 drivers were nabbed for trying to sneak past a bus that was stopped, with red lights flashing and an extended “stop” arm, to pick up or drop off students. The violation could carry a fine of up to $250 plus court fees, five points on a driver’s record and a 60-day license suspension.

Stop arms that swing out to signal that traffic should stop have become standard equipment on most school buses.

A state law that went into effect this year allows school districts in Pennsylvania to work with bus companies to install cameras to catch drivers who attempt to pass a bus actively unloading or boarding students.

KQV-AM back on the air

It’s not broadcasting in an all-news format, but KQV-AM is back on the air in the Pittsburgh area.

The station, which had been off the air after an ownership change in 2018, has a storied history as Pittsburgh’s oldest all-news radio station. KQV-AM 1410 returned to the airwaves Dec. 19 and is now broadcasting instrumental, easy-listening music.

KQV started in 1919 and is one of only three radio stations east of the Mississippi — including KDKA and KYW, in Philadelphia — with call letters beginning in K.

Uber test track coming to Findlay Township

Uber purchased a 600-acre parcel in Findlay Township to build a self-driving vehicle test track.

A company spokeswoman said more details will be announced in the coming months.

The move comes almost a year after the San Francisco-based ridesharing company resumed testing its self-driving cars in Pittsburgh. Uber’s fleet of autonomous Volvo SUVs had been grounded for most of 2018 following a fatal crash involving one of Uber’s self-driving cars in Tempe, Ariz. Uber has been expanding in Pittsburgh over the last decade, with an Advanced Technology Center in the strip district and a 178-acre testing site in Hazelwood.