Pittsburgh police seek woman accused of running down paramour in deadly hit and run

Pittsburgh police are searching for a woman they allege ran down her paramour after an argument in the city’s Homewood section last week.

Ausha Dakisha Brown, 25, is charged with homicide, homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment and multiple traffic violations.

The charges stem from the April 19 hit-and-run death of Von Washington, 31. Washington died shortly before midnight on Tuesday, about an hour after he was struck by a vehicle. Pittsburgh police responded to Kelly Street just after 10:40 p.m. for a report of a man who’d been hit by a car. Washington was taken to UPMC Presbyterian where he was pronounced dead.

At the scene, police found blood, a black sock, keys attached to a change purse and a Port Authority Connect card with Brown’s name on it, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators wrote that multiple witnesses described the deadly events to police and identified Brown as the driver.

One witness heard commotion and arguing outside their home and looked outside to see Washington and a woman later identified as Brown “tussling back and forth” in the street, according to the complaint.

The witness said the pair was arguing near a large black SUV, and Washington eventually walked away toward his own home, according to the complaint. The witness said Brown got in the SUV and “ran up on the sidewalk” and struck Washington, who she allegedly then ran over as she left the scene.

“She was flying, she was real fast,” the witness told investigators, according to the complaint, describing Brown as “ragey like” as she did.

Two other witnesses pointed to Brown as the driver in the incident and identified her to police through social media.

A fourth witness provided police with Washington’s cell phone, which investigators said showed Facebook messages between Washington and an account under the name Harley Queen. Witnesses identified the photos on the account as Brown, according to the complaint, and investigators said the messages indicate Washington and Brown had been romantically involved for around two weeks.

Brown was not in custody as of late Sunday afternoon.

Megan Guza and Paul Peirce are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.