06/23/1998 ROP hasch Car in police chase kills boy on bike
By Michael Hasch
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

A vehicle being chased by at least two suburban police departments struck a young bicyclist in Brighton Heights, knocking the child and his bike about 50 yards before shearing off a utility pole and overturning down a hillside.

The child, 7-year-old Raymond Michelotti, whose body landed in front of his home at the intersection of Gass Avenue and Reuben Street, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Oakland. Although three people were inside the sports recreation vehicle when the crashes occurred, only the driver, Jamal Tate, 22, of the North Side, was facing charges last night.

Investigators said it appears the vehicle was being chased by police from Avalon and Bellevue after either Tate or one of his passengers pointed what appeared to be a gun at someone. Pittsburgh homicide detectives were still questioning officers from both departments last night and police chiefs from those communities could not be reached for comment.

Witnesses said Michelotti, who they said was a second-grade student at nearby John Morrow Elementary School, was riding his bicycle through the intersection of Gass Avenue and Beckham Street when the accident occurred shortly before 6 p.m.

Scott Richert was standing on Gass Avenue, trimming a tree, when he "heard the roar of an engine and turned and saw the truck cresting the hill" and continuing down the steep, narrow street. "I thought for sure he was going to take me out," said Richert, who jumped onto the sidewalk. "He went airborne at the crest of the hill and bounced back to the pavement. I thought `Oh my God!' He just missed me." "The little boy was riding his bicycle down Beckham toward the intersection. It happened so fast," Richert said. "It was just a flash." "The truck bounced through the intersection, became airborne, and hit the kid. The kid was carried almost to the bottom of the hill." "I didn't see the police coming over the top of the hill, they weren't chasing too close," Richert said.

"I heard the sirens faintly in the background when the vehicle crested the hill in front of my house," agreed Carole Hogan of Gass Avenue. "The police were not on his tail." "The boy almost made it to the sidewalk," said Hogan. "There was no way he could have gotten out of the way." "I heard the crash. It was horrible," said Hogan, who ran down the hill to try to help the child. "The boy was unconscious. He wasn't responsive. His eyes were half opened. There was blood coming from his nose and mouth but not from his other wounds."

Although some neighbors said the boy's mother often sits on her front porch while Raymond rides his bicycle, it was not known if she or his sister witnessed the accident. But they both came running as Hogan and other neighbors ran down the hill, past some of the wreckage and Michelotti's black bicycle helmet.

John Galuska said he heard Michelotti's mother crying, "Raymond! Please, Raymond! Hang in there, Raymond, please!." But Galuska said, "I could tell his was dead. His body was mangled and there was no movement." Galuska said he also saw "three guys climb out of the wreckage and run over the hill, through the woods."

Tate and two juveniles were apprehended by city police following a brief foot chase a short time later. All three were taken to city hospitals but Tate and one of the juveniles were released following treatment. The other juvenile was still being treated last night but police said his injuries do not appear to be serious. Police were still questioning Tate last night. The other juvenile was released in the custody of his parents. About three hours after the accident, Raymond's mother and other family members walked through police lines to the house but came back a few minutes later, with the woman clutching a large stuffed animal.

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