A Valencia man’s erratic driving led another vehicle to collide head-on with a tractor-trailer along Route 8 in Middlesex Township earlier this year, according to police.

The driver involved in the collision — a deaf man — was lying in the road when police arrived at the scene. He was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital for emergency surgery after his mother helped translate his sign language through a FaceTime call, telling police what happened and where the man felt pain.

Police said they learned from witnesses that a white Chevrolet truck passed the man’s gray sedan using the center lane just before the collision and cut off the sedan, which was traveling north in the fast lane.

Police said the truck, found to have been driven by Logan Robert Heilman, 19, was not at the scene. Heilman was charged Tuesday, July 22, with one count of misdemeanor accident involving damage and two summary traffic offenses related to the May 30 crash.

Police said the sedan driver, Lucas Grimm, applied the brakes in response to the truck’s movement and lost control, swerving into the opposite lane and striking a Penske tractor-trailer head-on. The tractor-trailer, driven by John Jamison, was traveling southbound.

Grimm was taken by Quality EMS to Allegheny General Hospital. Police later learned the man’s leg was broken in multiple places, which prompted emergency surgery and Grimm developing compartment syndrome. Cleveland Clinic defines the syndrome as a buildup of pressure around the muscles usually resulting from serious injury or surgical complications.

Police used dash camera footage from the Penske truck and traffic cameras to confirm the statements gathered on scene and track Heilman to his home. Heilman was not home at the time and later met police at the station.

In an interview with police, Heilman said the sedan driver “brake-checked” him. Heilman said he passed the driver in the center turning lane and did not know the crash occurred.

Police said the sedan was found with heavy front-end damage and the tractor-trailer had moderate front-end damage.

Heilman’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 26 before District Judge Jack Ripper.