The fatal crash occurred on Feb. 20, 2025 at the intersection of Forbes Ave and Pride St near UPMC Mercy

We are saddened to learn that just after 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 20, 2025, the driver of a box truck hit and killed a pedestrian, who has been identified as 48-year-old Jeremy Leval. The crash occurred in Pittsburgh’s Uptown / The Bluff neighborhood at the intersection of Forbes Ave and Pride St near UPMC Mercy. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the victim as they deal with this tragedy.

According to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Blotter, the city’s Vision Zero Fatal Crash Response Team, which includes the Pittsburgh Police Collision Investigation Unit, will complete a site visit to evaluate potential crash factors. After the site visit, additional updates will be made available on the Vision Zero Working Group’s Engage Page.

Forbes Ave is on the City’s High Injury Network

At the moment of writing this blog post, there are still several unknowns in this case.

What we do know is that Forbes Ave has been identified as part of the City’s High Injury Network. It also has a lot of foot traffic due to its close proximity to the Mercy Hospital, Duquesne University, and Downtown Pittsburgh.

There are plans to make huge changes to both Fifth and Forbes Ave as part of the PRT’s University Line Bus Rapid Transit project. The project, once complete, will improve the sidewalks, crosswalks, and add protected bike lanes and bump outs along the corridor.

Approximately 20 Pittsburghers die every year traveling our streets.

A third of these deaths every year are pedestrians.

Over the last 10 years, (2014-2023), we’ve lost 193 Pittsburghers to traffic violence, 56 of whom were walking, with another seven 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.

And finally, it’s important to understand that humans are not perfect. We make mistakes. It’s part of being a human. But as a city, we need to do what we can to make sure that human mistakes don’t have deadly outcomes.