Neighbors evacuated after chase ends with crash into West...

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — A police chase ended early Monday in West Mifflin when a car hit a gas meter and damaged a wall.

Three homes along Brierly Lane were evacuated as a precaution after the crash around 1 a.m.

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“(The) car (came) speeding down here - you can see the tire tracks - hit my wall, flipped over on its top and then flipped back upright again,” Chuck Page said.

After plowing through Page’s wall, the car slammed into Janice Bolsteer’s gas line.

“All I could think of was (what) if that house blows up and my neighbors along with it, too. I was really frightened,” Bolsteer said.

One of the two people in the car ran from police. The man was not immediately found, but Bolsteer said police told her that they know the man’s identity.

No arrests were made at the scene, but a woman, who was the passenger in the crashed car, was taken to a hospital.

Investigators did not release details about what started the chase.

Bolsteer said she had asked People’s Natural Gas in the past to move her gas meter away from the road but said her requests were repeatedly denied.

Barry Kukovich of People’s Natural Gas wouldn’t comment on Bolsteer’s requests, but he said the meter outside her home was destroyed, as well as the line inside the home as a result of the crash. He said the gas has been shut off until repairs can be made.

Kukovich said it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to get the line inside the home fixed before the gas company can repair the outside meter and restore service.

He said the other lines in the area are some of the oldest in the system, and People’s Natural Gas is spending $750 million over the next five years to replace them.

WPXI