Verdict due in Parkway crash that killed three

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February 8, 2012

Anonymous Associated Press Wed Feb 08, 2012, 10:02 AM EST

PITTSBURGH — A judge is set to rule on whether a Pittsburgh-area man is guilty of involuntary manslaughter and other charges in a crash on Interstate 376 that killed three of his friends nearly two years ago.

Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning has heard two days of testimony and has said he’ll rule Wednesday, the 21st birthday of Ryan Safka of Upper St. Clair.

State police say the car’s onboard computer shows he was driving 106 mph when the car went airborne over an embankment and crashed on Feb. 21, 2010, killing 20-year-old Derek Phillips, of Bethel Park, 20-year-old David Rizzo Jr. and 18-year-old Tara Schulz, both of Upper St. Clair.

Safka’s attorneys have argued the computer is wrong and overestimated the speed because it recorded the tire rotations while the car was airborne.

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