Police: McKeesport man knew his brakes didn't work before fatal July crash

Police say that a McKeesport man knew his 2003 Yukon had no brakes and was unsafe to drive when he left ACS Auto Repair on July 3, but he drove off anyway and crashed about a mile away, killing his female passenger.

Eric Oliver, 47, faces a slew of charges in connection with the crash, including homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, accidents involving death and various traffic and vehicle violations, court records show.

The crash on Brownlee Road left 50-year-old Levona Hawkins dead after she was thrown from the GMC during the mid-day crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the criminal complaint, Oliver told investigators he was driving down a hill westbound on Brownlee when his brakes – which he said were working properly up until then – stopped working. The emergency brakes, too, he said, would not stop the SUV. He said he drove into a hillside in an attempt to slow down. When that didn’t work, he told police, he turned hard to the right, drove through a fence and eventually came to a stop.

Oliver said Hawkins was “freaking out,” and she at some point either jumped or was thrown from the car, according to the complaint.

Police said Oliver reported he’d bought the SUV in May with roughly 208,000 miles on it. He said he’d recently spoken to the previous owner who told him the brake rotors should be replaced, according to the complaint.

During an inspection of the SUV by Allegheny County police, investigators noted the dashboard lit up with the message “service brake system,” and the car had numerous issues that would have failed state inspection.

One month before the crash, Oliver and Hawkins had been at ACS Auto Repair on Versailles Avenue, police said. The owner and only mechanic said he remembered Oliver and the SUV, and the brakes were “in terrible condition,” according to the complaint.

The mechanic concluded the brake system was “extremely unsafe” and the car shouldn’t have been driven, according to the complaint. He told Oliver to have the vehicle towed because he could “get killed” if he attempted to drive it. He told police Oliver drove off regardless, and a woman who was with him said she was afraid to ride in the car.

According to the complaint, the woman instead began walking down the street while Oliver slowly drove away. The fatal crash happened a month later.

Family members told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV they miss Hawkins.

“I’m 75 years old,” Hawkins’s mother, Dorothy Huston, told the TV station. “I want some justice for my child. I loved her so much.”

Hawkins’s daughter, Tammerica, said the family was “trying to find every reason” not to be thankful this holiday.

“We are thankful at least there is some progression,” she said.

Oliver was not in custody as of Wednesday night.