Bus rider fatally hits man racially harassing him and won’t be charged, PA officials say
A bus rider won’t face any charges after he fatally struck a man who was harassing him and hurling racist slurs, Pennsylvania officials said.
Prior to his hospitalization and eventual death, Jason Fioravanti, 48, was intoxicated and “bothering” passengers on board a public bus on March 7, 2022, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office said in a Dec. 6 news release.
Investigators say Fioravanti was targeting one particular rider, an unidentified Black man, more than the others, according to the release. He “used racial slurs and threatened the individual,” officials said, adding that Fioravanti “was the apparent sole instigator of these exchanges.”
At some point during the ride, the driver called Rochester Borough police, the release said. Both men got off in Rochester.
As officers made their way to the bus stop, they were told the situation escalated — someone had been assaulted and an ambulance was needed, officials said. They arrived to find Fioravanti unconscious on the ground, and the other man was nowhere to be seen.
Fioravanti suffered a “traumatic brain injury” and was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to officials. He died over a year later, on May 7, due to his injuries.
An investigation revealed that after getting off the bus, Fioravanti hit the rider, who hit back, causing Fioravanti to fall to the ground, officials said.
Police launched a search for the rider, and local media shared photos of him, but he was never found or identified, officials said.
Because the rider can’t be found and appears to have hit Fioravanti in self-defense, officials decided that “no charges will be filed in this case at this time.”
However, investigators are still asking anyone with information regarding the case to contact the Rochester Borough Police Department at 724-774-7278.
Rochester is roughly 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
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