Large cardboard hearts have been tied to the utility pole near where a driver struck and killed Vira Petrakh while she was walking.

A vigil will be held on Saturday, 10/26 at 10am

At about 8:45am on Wednesday, October 23rd, a driver struck and killed Vira Petrakh, 51 from Carnegie Borough, while she was walking along Reynolds St and South Dallas Ave in Point Breeze. Our hearts go out to her family and friends.

The crash is currently under investigation, and we will share more details here as they become available.

Please join Vira’s family and members of the Point Breeze community for a vigil at Reynolds and S Dallas at 10am on Saturday, October 26th.

Please also consider making a donation to support funeral and family expenses for Vira via this fundraiser.

Dallas Ave, where the crash occurred, is on the City’s High Injury Network

What we DO know is that Dallas Ave, a state-owned road, is often used as a cut-through for drivers going between Penn Ave and Forbes Ave. Speeding and red light running are common, creating dangerous conditions for people walking and biking and earning Dallas Ave a spot on the City’s High Injury Network. Although traffic calming has been installed closer to Forbes Ave, the intersection of Dallas and Reynolds continues to be a high speed area that needs to be addressed.

Approximately 20-25 Pittsburghers die every year traveling our streets. About a third of these deaths every year are pedestrians. Between 2010 and 2020, we lost 200 Pittsburghers to traffic violence, 55 of whom were walking, with another six people who were riding a bicycle. These deaths are entirely preventable.

This is why the City’s commitment to Vision Zero is so important. We need to continue to take steps to eliminate all traffic fatalities. Vision Zero is the concept that all traffic crashes are preventable, and that we can collectively work to achieve zero traffic deaths.