Published: March 30, 2009 11:35 pm      

Police probing weekend crash that killed teen

LIGONIER — Police continue to investigate a weekend crash that killed a Somerset County teen, and officials say it could be weeks or months before they decide whether to file criminal charges in the incident.

“There’s a lot we need to do,” said Michael Matrunics, Ligonier Township police chief.

The Westmoreland County coroner’s office on Monday said 15-year-old John Austin Blough, a Hollsopple resident and a North Star High School freshman, died from blunt-force injuries to his head and chest.

Blough was a rear-seat passenger in a Chevy Lumina, the second of two vehicles that were stopped at a red light early Saturday on Route 30 in Laughlintown.

Police said a third vehicle – a Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 23-year-old Brandon Behie of Laughlintown – plowed into the rear of the Lumina, pushing it into a Pontiac Grand Prix driven by 48-year-old Rebecca Weimer of Boswell.

Weimer was not hurt. Blough was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:50 a.m. Three others involved in the accident required hospitalization. Two of them are juveniles, and police did not release their names. The third was Behie, who was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, where he remained in serious condition Monday.

Matrunics said his investigation is being assisted by state police accident-reconstruction specialists, and the completion of their report will take time.

“Once I finish collecting all my evidence, we’ll be consulting with the (Westmoreland County) district attorney’s office,” Matrunics said.

The chief added that he has not yet determined whether alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

Blough, who was a wrestler, football player and an honor-roll student at North Star, is the fourth Somerset County teen to die in an auto wreck this month.

On March 5, three Meyersdale Area High School students were killed when their car went out of control on Route 219.