Alabama man accused of using cellphone during fatal crash with New Kensington motorcyclist

New Kensington police accused an Alabama man of looking at his cellphone while driving when he ran a red light in September 2021 and crashed into a motorcycle, killing the rider.

Jim Robert Adamson, 59, of Goodwater, Ala., is charged with a felony count of homicide by vehicle along with traffic citations for careless driving that caused an unintentional death and failure to stop at a red light.

Adamson was released from custody on a $50,000 unsecured bond. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on Nov. 17, according to court records.

Adamson was driving a company-owned Chevy Silverado pickup after his first day of work at a construction site in Vandergrift when the Sept. 28, 2021, crash occurred, according to a criminal complaint.

Adamson told investigators that he had a green light as he entered the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street and hit the motorcycle.

The motorcyclist, Martin Stephen Susa, 71, of New Kensington, was thrown from his Harley-Davidson, according to investigators.

He was taken by ambulance to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where he died four days later. He died from blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities, according to his autopsy report.

Last October, police questioned Adamson using the FaceTime app, and he told them that he thought the traffic light was green as he approached the intersection, the complaint said.

He said he heard a motorcycle engine revving and thought it was speeding up when he spotted it out of the corner of his eye just before the collision, police said.

The pickup’s driver side front bumper hit the bike’s rear wheel.

Adamson told police he was using the cellphone’s GPS service because he needed directions to the motel where he was staying. He was holding it in his hand because the phone didn’t fit in the dash-mounted holder.

According to the complaint, video from a traffic camera at the intersection shows the motorcycle stopped at a red light and then began moving forward when the light turned green.

Police said the light was red for about five or six seconds before Adamson drove through the intersection and hit Susa’s motorcycle, the complaint said.

Video from a camera mounted at Constitution Boulevard and Seventh Street shows Adamson’s truck driving about 19 mph with his left hand at the top of the steering wheel, the complaint said. Police said he can be seen lifting his right hand and repeatedly looking to the right while driving.