Former Pittsburgh Radio Personality Killed In Crash

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA — A former Pittsburgh radio personality died Sunday in a vehicular crash that has an Aliquippa man facing numerous charges.

Bertram "B.J." Forsyth, 46, of Cranberry, died in the crash that occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m. at the intersection of Route 19 and Ehrman Road. The crash site required the closure of Route 19 for nearly five hours, township police said.

Forsyth was a radio personality known as "B.J." when he was on the air at Pittsburgh radio stations WKST-FM (96.1.) and 3WS-FM (94.5), PBRTV reported. He also worked at the Charleroi-licensed WESA-FM (98.3) under the name Art Vandalay.

Most recently, according to his LinkedIn Profile, he worked for Libsyn, a company that hosts more than 75,000 podcasts worldwide.

Witnesses to the crash told Cranberry police that a U-Haul truck driven by Darren Michael Martin, 34, of Aliquippa was speeding while traveling northbound on Route 19. According to police, witnesses said the U-Haul traveled through a steady red signal and struck Forsyth's vehicle, which was entering Route 19 from Ehrman Road.

Forsyth was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe Martin was under the influence of intoxicating substances at the time of the
crash, township police said. A blood draw was obtained from Martin but test results were not immediately available on Monday.

Martin was charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance; endangering another person, reckless driving and traffic control signal violations.

Martin was arraigned by District Judge Amy Marcinkiewicz and bond was set at $500,000. He is being housed in the Butler County Prison.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed it is asked to call the township police department at 724-776-5180.

Forsyth is survived by his wife and three children. A GoFundMe page has been established to assist the family.