The motorist who was killed when the stolen car he was driving the wrong way on the Parkway East slammed into an oncoming car had a history of leading police on high-speed chases, Allegheny County Court records show.
Conway Reginald Redden, 29, of Sheraden, had been out of jail for only two days before he and his 10-year-old nephew, Brian Redden, of Duquesne, were killed Saturday night, state police Cpl. Barry Gaston said.
Four other people remained hospitalized Monday with injuries suffered in the accident that occurred shortly after 10 p.m. just east of the Grant Street exit, Downtown, as Redden was fleeing the scene of two hit-and-run accidents.
Three other passengers in the stolen car -- Redden's son, Darious Dickson, 8, and his nephews, Brandon Redden, 10, and Trevon Jackson, 7 -- were in fair condition at Children's Hospital in Oakland.
None of those in the stolen car were wearing seat belts, state police said.
The driver of the other car, James R. Bishop, 57, of Point Breeze, was in fair condition at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland.
Redden had a criminal record of reckless driving during two police chases, court records show.
In November 1999, he was arrested after speeding away when city police tried to stop him for driving drunk in a stolen car in the East End. The chase ended when he crashed into an unoccupied car.
Redden, who also had a history of using a number of different names, was sentenced to one to two years in jail as part of a plea agreement.
In June 2001, Redden drove the wrong way on a roadway, turned off his headlights and failed to stop at eight stop signs during a police chase in the East End. He was placed on three years' probation and ordered to undergo random drug testing, court records show.
Chief county probation Officer Robert Galardy said yesterday that he is investigating whether Redden complied with the drug testing and other requirements of the sentence, and whether his office had done enough to monitor Redden.
"This man had lots of involvement with the courts and jails using several different names, so it's hard to piece his history together quickly," Galardy said.
Two youths who were with Redden and his young relatives Saturday said Redden had taken them Downtown on a bus for a day of movies and skating.
After they could not find the right bus to The Waterfront complex in Homestead, the youths said Redden spent some time in a Market Square bar before coming out and telling them to wait a little longer.
Investigators believe that Redden stole a Pontiac Firebird and was involved in the first hit-and-run accident before returning to pick up the children.
The youths, Montez Jones, 13, and Cordell Gibson, 12, both of Duquesne, refused to get in because they believed the car was stolen and that Redden had been drinking.
Redden drove onto Interstate 376 outbound toward Monroeville, but then struck another car at the Forbes Avenue/Oakland exit, which spun the Firebird around, state police said. He then began driving inbound on the outbound lanes before colliding with Bishop's oncoming car.
City police said there is no indication that officers began chasing or following Redden at any time during the incident.
Redden's mother, Lisa Betha, said she is bewildered by the events police attribute to her son.
"It seems really strange that he would do this when he was taking the boys out for fun," she said at her home yesterday as she spoke by phone with an insurance agent and a funeral director.
