Roundup: Hit-and-run driver strikes bicyclist in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Aug. 25:

Hit-and-run driver strikes bicyclist in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland

A bicyclist was critically injured Thursday night when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood.

A motorist driving on Beaver Avenue at about 9 p.m. found the bicyclist unresponsive on the road near Cantrill Street with his bicycle nearby, according to a city Public Safety spokeswoman.

There were no known witnesses to the collision, and a description of the suspect vehicle wasn’t available.

Pittsburgh police are investigating.

Drought watch lifted for most Western Pa. counties

A drought watch has been lifted for 47 Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland.

Fayette is among 20 counties where the drought watch remains in effect.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday announced the easing of a statewide drought watch that went into effect in mid-June.

At that time, the Pittsburgh region was 4 inches below normal precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Friday, the region was about 3.5 inches short of normal precipitation for the year to date — having received 23.53 inches compared to 27.11 inches, according to Colton Milcarek, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Moon.

“That’s more of a long-term driver,” Milcarek said of the annual figures. “A short-term drought is not receiving rainfall over two to three weeks. We’ve had a lot of rain here recently.”

Residents in areas subject to a drought watch are asked to reduce their water use by 5% to 10%, or a reduction of three to six gallons of water per day.

Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents for more stringent conservation actions.

When it assesses drought conditions, the DEP considers information from public water suppliers and data on precipitation, surface water flow, groundwater level and soil moisture.

Weekend disruption set for Pittsburgh light-rail service

Pittsburgh Regional Transit alerted light-rail users that service from the South Hills to Downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore will be disrupted beginning at 8 p.m. Friday and continuing until the start of service Monday.

They advised those traveling by rail during the weekend to allow extra time to reach their destination.

Transit officials indicated in a Facebook post that the disruption is being caused by work that was postponed to accommodate times of high ridership.

Fayette County man dies after fall from garbage truck

An Uniontown man died Tuesday at Pittsburgh’s UPMC-Presbyterian hospital a day after falling from a truck in Fayette County.

Collin Rozzi, 21, fell from a garbage truck at about 9:30 a.m. Monday in the 800 block of Water Street in Brownsville, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

He was taken by emergency medical services to the hospital, where he died shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a report from the office indicated.

United Mine Workers of America spokeswoman Erin Bates said Rozzi, who was a member of the union, suffered a head injury during the incident at a site operated by Noble Environmental. The company also operates a landfill in Rostraver.

UMWA safety experts, members of its Local Union 2291 safety committee and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating the incident on Friday, Bates said.

“We are committed to unearthing the facts surrounding (Rozzi’s) passing and will implement measures to prevent any such future occurrences,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said in a statement.

“We very much offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Collin Rozzi,” said Noble Environmental spokesperson Ro Rozier. “We also have in our thoughts his many colleagues in McClellandtown and throughout our company.”