HIT AND RUN DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH DUI HOMICIDE

On June 12, Harveys Lake police arrested a man suspected of being under the influence of alcohol during a fatal collision. The accident at the center of this arrest involves the vehicular killing of a 31-year-old woman from Factoryville, Pennsylvania.

According to Luzerne County detectives, the victim was jogging along Lakeside Drive in Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania, on June 7, when the 50-year-old defendant struck her with his vehicle before fleeing the scene.

The defendant is currently facing numerous charges, including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and charges related to the duty to give information and render aid.

According to court documents, the first lead police received was when they determined that a shattered headlight found at the scene of the accident belong to a Honda vehicle. Authorities immediately scoured the area looking for vehicles matching the description with damage to their front ends. Sometime after, they found a vehicle matching the description that also appeared to be stained with blood.

After brief investigation, police located the defendant, who reportedly admitted to drinking and mentioned that he was lucky to have made it home. A subsequent test of his blood alcohol concentration level indicated he had BAC of 0.214. To put that into perspective, Pennsylvania considers a person impaired when their BAC reaches 0.08 percent. Due to the defendant’s four prior DUIs and other considerations, the judge set his bail at $400,000.

Pennsylvania laws allow victims of preventable accidents to sue individuals responsible for their injuries. If successful, those victims can recover compensation related to their medical expenses and other costs.

Additionally, the surviving family members of a victim killed as a result of negligence such as hit-and-run vehicle fatalities can sue for the loss of their loved one under Pennsylvania’s wrongful death statute. In those cases, it is common for an attorney representing the victim’s estate to assist the family with those recoveries. Those attorneys also sometimes help those families with tax liability issues related to those estates. They also help the victim’s family defend those estates from challenges from creditors.

Source: Times-Leader, “Scavone charged with DUI homicide in hit-run death of Paula Jones at Harveys Lake,” Steve Mocarsky, June 12, 2015