A Bethel Park man died Tuesday when strong winds toppled a tree onto the man’s vehicle in Upper St. Clair.

Officials with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette identified the man as longtime employee Stephen A. Stasenko Jr.

“Steve was a well known presence at the (Pittsburgh) Press and the Post-Gazette for almost 47 years,” said Post-Gazette President and General Manager Tracey DeAngelo. “Our hearts go out to his family, his colleagues here at the Post-Gazette and all those who knew him. He will be missed and fondly remembered.”

Stasenko was at a red light at the intersection of McMurray and Bethel Church roads when a tree fell on his and another vehicle, according to Upper St. Clair Lt. Mike Lindenfelser.

He said Stasenko was pulled from the car in critical condition and later died at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon. Stasenko’s wife, who was in the car with him, was not hurt. The family of six that was in the other car struck by the tree were also unharmed, police said.

The strong storms wreaked havoc across the region, toppling trees, damaging roofs and leaving thousands without power.

The storms caused widespread power outages in the region, with thousands still waiting for service to be restored.

West Penn Power reported about 15,689 customers in Pennsylvania and New York were without power as of 10:20 a.m. Wednesday.

There were 9,713 customers in Westmoreland County who still were without power as well as 2,700 in Washington and about 2,108 in Allegheny.

Communities included Irwin, North Huntingdon, Jeannette, Greensburg and Latrobe areas of Westmoreland County, as well as several towns in Allegheny County.

North Huntingdon police said at 8 p.m. that traffic signals along Route 30 were not operating. The lights later became operational with generators, police said.

At its peak, West Penn Power reported 44,800 customers were without power shortly before 8 p.m.

West Penn Power said Wednesday morning that are bringing in 230 additional line workers to restore power, particularly in the hard-hits areas of Westmoreland County.

Duquesne Light reported that there were still 31 outages impacting 1,754 customers as of 10:15 a.m. The largest number of homes in the utility’s service area without power is Carnegie, where 1,433 customers are waiting for service to be restored.

Munhall: 600 block E 19th Ave – gutter blown from a house onto power lines that are now arcing

— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) May 3, 2022

Officials also reported wires down near the intersection of Brighton Road and Lincoln Avenue in Bellevue.

Bellevue: Brighton Rd/Lincoln Ave – wires down

— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) May 3, 2022

The Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety received numerous reports of downed trees that toppled wires.

One person was hospitalized Tuesday evening after being trapped in a vehicle on top of which a carport and tree landed during heavy storms, according to Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine.

Firefighters freed the man in Loyalhanna and he was taken to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville with multiple fractures. It was one of about 20-some calls that Bradenville volunteer firefighters answered in a couple hours, he said.

“The carport wasn’t even his,” Piantine said.

Piantine said he is hoping storm surveyors visit Derry Township. Firefighters were at the new Bradenville station preparing for its grand opening this weekend when they noticed heavy winds. A High Street home that was damaged by a fire a couple months ago had its roof torn away by the wind and land on a neighboring house, he said.

“Debris went through High Street, there were shingles and garbage and fence parts,” Piantine said.

The home was still standing while fire investigators worked, but now it will have to be demolished.

“It’s very compromised right now,” he said.

In other parts of the township, trees were mangled or ripped from the ground, among other damage to homes. About 8,200 West Penn Power customers were awaiting restoration of their electricity service. The majority was in North Huntingdon.

Because of power outages and road closures, Norwin instituted a flexible instruction day for Wednesday for all of its building, so students will not be in class but will have remote learning.

A National Weather Service tornado survey team was dispatched to Washington County, said Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Moon office.

Rainfall totals in Westmoreland ranged from .9 inch in Greensburg, to 1.1 inch in Irwin, 1.9 inches in Mt. Pleasant and 1.9 at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. In Allegheny County, about 2 inches of rain fell in Pittsburgh’s South Hills communities of West Mifflin and Brentwood, while 1 inch was recorded at the weather service station, said Lee Hendricks, a National Weather Service meteorologist.