Police: Man was driving 90 mph, had THC in his system in deadly North Versailles crash

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A man who tested positive for THC and cannabinoids was driving about 90 mph when he struck and killed another driver last spring in North Versailles, authorities said.

Aaron Butler of Wilkins turned himself in Friday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. He faces numerous charges, including homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Police said data from Butler’s Pontiac Grand Am showed he was driving 90 mph on Fifth Avenue in the borough as another driver attempted to make a left turn in her Nissan Versa onto Fifth from Crooked Run Road.

Butler struck that car, police said, and the driver, later identified as 66-year-old Tammy Chonko of Duquesne, died at the hospital. Butler was also sent to the hospital in stable condition. 

The posted speed limit on that stretch of Fifth Avenue is 40 mph, police wrote in the criminal complaint. The vehicle data showed Butler hit the brakes about 100 feet before hitting Chonko’s vehicle. 

Witnesses reported Butler driving erratically and at high rates of speed before the crash, and video footage obtained from near the crash site corroborated the vehicle data showing he was driving fast and hit the brakes just before the crash, according to the complaint. 

While interviewed at the hospital, police said in a criminal complaint, Butler said he had used marijuana two or three days before the crash. Several weeks after the crash, on May 28, blood test results showed Butler tested positive for cannabinoids and THC.

Butler is being held in Allegheny County Jail and awaiting a date for a preliminary hearing.