Pa. man guilty of friend’s death at train crossing

BEAVER, Pa. (AP) — A drunken driver has been found guilty in the death of his friend, who was killed when the driver drove around railroad crossing gates and his pickup truck was hit by a train in western Pennsylvania last year.

Jayson Hatton, 39, of Center Township, will be sentenced Aug. 7 by Judge John Dohanich of Beaver County Common Pleas Court. The same judge on Monday found Hatton guilty of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and drunken driving in the crash April 3, 2008.

Police say 29-year-old Jesse Kownacki, of Baden, was thrown from the pickup and killed when it was hit by the freight train.

Hatton’s blood alcohol content was about double the state’s limit for drivers when he drove around the crossing gates in Monaca.