PITTSBURGH, PA —
Eric Gonzalez-Huerta, 23, was behind the wheel when a tire came off his truck, and flew through the windshield of 75-year-old Robert Lofink’s oncoming car. Lofink died in the accident.
An Allegheny County Judge announced the verdict Friday morning.
Gonzalez-Huerta was found not guilty of being involved in an accident involving death.
According to Channel 11's Carly Flynn Morgan, the judge found Gonzalez-Huerta guilty of 22 driving offenses and unlawful activities. He was fined $1,800.
Gonzalez-Huerta told the judge, "I feel horrible about what's happened." He apologized to Lofink's family through a translator.
Many of those family members had tears in their eyes as they left the courtroom.
Prosecutors said Gonzalez-Huerta shouldn’t have been on the road because he had no license, no insurance and a mechanic testified that his vehicle was dangerous.
The defense argued the tire was installed improperly, and Gonzalez-Huerta couldn’t have known.
When asked if they plan to file a civil lawsuit, Lofink’s family members declined to comment.
///---------------//
Man's death by runaway wheel on Route 28 ruled accident
A Hampton man killed Friday when a loose
wheel smashed through his windshield died of head and neck injuries, the
Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Saturday.
The office has ruled Robert Lofink's death as an accident, but neighbors described it as a tragedy.
“A real shock,” said Jack Klotz, a neighbor of the Lofinks' for about three decades.
Robert Lofink, 75, was a good neighbor with a
good sense of humor and a generous spirit, he said. The two men would
talk about every other week, often when Lofink was out in his garden.
“He has two daughters. He was always there for them and the grandchildren — you could tell,” he said. “A good man.”
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
The family declined an interview Saturday.
Allegheny County police have charged Eric
Gonzalez-Huerta, 23, of Louisville with a felony count of causing an
accident involving death and a misdemeanor count of causing a fatal
accident while driving without a license. He's also charged with driving
without a license and without insurance.
Gonzaelz-Huerta, who is in the country
illegally, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on $250,000 bail,
according to court records. His arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 2 in
Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Lofink was driving north on Route 28 when a
wheel from Gonzalez-Huerta's southbound trailer bounded over the
concrete barrier and smashed through his windshield.
The accident occurred at 10:45 a.m. near the Shaler water pumphouse between the 40th and 62nd streets bridges.
Gonzalez-Huerta was hauling debris from an
unidentified construction site in Ford City to a landfill in McKees
Rocks. He did not stop. Gonzalez-Huerta told police that he didn't
notice a wheel was missing until he stopped in McKees Rocks, according
to the criminal complaint.
A man driving behind him saw the wheel come
off a trailer with a black tarp that was hauled by a white Ford F-450,
according to the complaint filed in the case.
The witness followed the truck to the McKees
Rocks Bridge. Officers issued an alert and stopped Gonzalez-Huerta on
his return trip to Ford City, about 90 minutes after the accident.