Suspect in fatal crash taken into custody at Vandergrift winery

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A man who had been wanted on charges including homicide by vehicle in Allegheny County was arrested in Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, on Friday night.

Police said the man was found in the basement of a winery on Custer Avenue and taken into custody.

"There was a door in the back that he broke into," said Officer Jerod Thompson of Vandergrift Police.

Matthew David Carlson, 35, is charged with 13 counts related to a crash on the McKees Rocks Bridge in December 2022. Police say Carlson was driving a car with two passengers, including Kendra Fennell, 38, who was killed.

A criminal complaint filed against Carlson alleges that he admitted to medics on the scene of the crash that he had snorted heroin. Blood tests later allegedly indicated Carlson tested positive for several drugs, including cocaine metabolite and fentanyl.

A judge signed a warrant for his arrest on Tuesday.

Thompson told reporters that a confidential informant working with Parks Township police informed them that Carlson was hiding out near a Vandergrift fire hall.

Carlson was able to evade police after a short chase Thursday night, Thompson said.

On Friday, though, Vandergrift police initiated a pursuit of a car Carlson was driving. Thompson said Carlson "bailed out" and ran away.

"We actually had him contained between two streets," Thompson said.

Westmoreland County SWAT officers went from door to door looking for Carlson, until they discovered he was hiding in the basement of the Wooden Door Winery.

Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reporter Mike Valente asked Carlson — as he was being brought out of the Vandergrift police station — if he had planned to go hide out in the winery. He said, "No."

Carlson did, however, answer in the affirmative when Valente asked if he had help evading police over the last few days.

Thompson said that aspect of the investigation is still ongoing.

Aside from a pocket knife, Carlson was not armed, Thompson said. The incident Friday night ended peacefully, with no shots having been fired.

The owner who answered the phone at Wooden Door's other location told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that the Vandergrift location is only open for private events until the fall, so the winery was closed when Carlson broke into the basement.

The owner later told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that it appeared Carlson opened a bottle of wine and drank about a third of it. The bottle's label reads: "Nobility."