100 mph chase on Route 28 ends with crash near Fox Chapel

A Pittsburgh man wanted on a warrant was jailed early Wednesday after state police say he led them on a more than 100 mph chase down Route 28 in a stolen vehicle.

Jozsef “Joe Ball” Harangozo, 36, was suspected of being “under the influence of controlled substances” as he fled south from the Pittsburgh Mills exit to the Fox Chapel exit shortly after 2:30 a.m., according to a news release from state police in Kittanning.

Sheena O’Neil, 32, a passenger in the car, also from Pittsburgh, was found to be in possession of drugs, state police said.

Frazer officers were on routine patrol shortly before 2:30 a.m. when they saw a red Ford Fusion driving suspiciously around the parking lot of the Walmart in the Pittsburgh Mills mall complex, police chief Terry Kuhns said.

“(Harangozo) was driving around the parking lot slowly, abruptly stopping, pulling in front of the Walmart, pulling away from the front of the Walmart, and circling around the parking lot,” Kuhns said.

Officers ran the car’s registration and found the license plate had been reported stolen to Pittsburgh police. The car, itself, had been reported stolen from the Shults Ford car dealership in McCandless, Kuhns said.

Kuhns said his officers contacted state police and attempted to pull the car over, but Harangozo sped out of the complex and onto Route 28, Kuhns said. Frazer officers gave chase, but cancelled their pursuit around the Harmar exit due to department policy.

State police Cpl. Chris Robbins said troopers continued to pursue the car, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, until it crashed into a barrier near the Fox Chapel exit. In the car, troopers found a crack pipe and a Chore Boy, which is used to filter the drug, Robbins said.

Harangozo faces more than 20 charges, including fleeing or attempting to elude police, receiving stolen property, driving under the influence of a drug and reckless endangerment.

The previous warrant for Harangozo was for a hit-and-run charge filed by Pittsburgh police.

“There’s multiple charges, but the main offense is hit-and-run,” Robbins said.

Harangozo was taken to the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh after being discharged from Allegheny General Hospital, Robbins said. An attorney wasn’t listed for him.

O’Neil will be charged with drug possession, Robbins said.