Wrong-Way Crash Victim's Husband Sues Driver, PennDOT, Pittsburgh
The April 2025 Parkway East collision killed a Mt. Lebanon woman and led to a prison sentence for the driver.
By James Mitchell ·
A lawsuit filed Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court names three defendants in connection with a wrong-way crash on Interstate 376 last year that killed a Mt. Lebanon woman.
Douglas R. Kerley brought the case on behalf of his wife, Shannon L. Morrow, 52, and Sharon Orlofske, 77, of Monroeville, who was a passenger. The suit names driver Pedro Olan Morales, 57, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the City of Pittsburgh.
The crash occurred April 13, 2025, at about 7:30 p.m. Morales entered eastbound Interstate 376 from Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh and drove the wrong way, striking Morrow's westbound Nissan Frontier head-on, according to the complaint. Testing put his blood alcohol level at 0.259%, more than three times the legal limit.
Morales pleaded guilty Sept. 30, 2025, to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related counts. A court ordered him to serve three to six years in prison.
The lawsuit alleges negligence and contends the Grant Street exit lacked adequate warning lights or signs to keep drivers from entering the wrong way. It describes existing wrong-way signage for Exit 71A as having been placed only at the initial entrance to the off ramp, "in a location that may not be readily visible or appreciated by a motorist, especially in conjunction with the overall number of Do Not Enter signage present at the intersection." Messages left late Friday with PennDOT and the City of Pittsburgh were not returned.
