Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Police Search for Truck Driver Who Toppled World War I Memorial in Troy Hill

Pittsburgh police are searching for the driver of a tractor-trailer that knocked over the World War I memorial in the Troy Hill neighborhood early Sunday and drove away, days before Veterans Day. The granite monument, installed in 1920, lists the Troy Hill residents who served in the war. It now sits on its side on its traffic island on Lowrie Street, ringed by traffic cones with police tape nearby.

What happened on Lowrie Street

Security camera footage captured the tractor-trailer trying to navigate out of a parking lot on Lowrie Street just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, KDKA-TV reported. Neighbors Josh Brower and Maura Bittle told the station they heard the truck stuck and revving for at least five minutes before the trailer knocked the monument over while turning onto the street. The driver then drove off. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the initial call was for a semi-truck either illegally parked or stuck in the roadway. While officers were on their way, another call reported that the driver had struck a utility pole and the nearby war memorial and had not stayed at the scene. Photos published by WPXI showed flags scattered around the toppled monument. No injuries were reported.

The memorial

The Troy Hill World War Memorial is a triangular granite honor roll with bronze tablets naming the residents of the neighborhood who served in World War I. The American Legion memorial registry lists its installation date as Nov. 11, 1920, by the Troy Hill Draftee's Association, at Lowrie Square on the 1700 block of Lowrie Street. Neighbors told KDKA-TV that drivers used to hit the memorial regularly, which led the city to reconfigure the spot to protect it, and that the changes appeared to work until Sunday morning.

The search for the driver

Police are reviewing the security footage to identify the driver. Reserve Township police posted on Sunday morning that a tractor-trailer had gotten stuck a few minutes away, leaving minor property damage, and a photo they shared showed a truck carrying the same logo as the one in the Troy Hill footage. Pittsburgh police are reaching out to Reserve Township police to confirm whether the two incidents are connected, a public safety spokesperson told KDKA-TV. The company name on the side of the cab was Fastmovers Express Inc., according to a photo provided to the station, which said it received no response from the company or from Reserve Township police. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Zone 1 police station at 412-323-7201.