A Butler Township man has been charged for an alleged hit and run on Saturday evening on Route 61.
According to court papers filed through Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli's office by Butler Township Lt. Shawn Butler, Joseph Newhouser, 66, of Butler Township, has been charged with accidents involving death or personal injury, failing to stop and give information or render aid, and failing to notify police of an accident.
According to the affidavit, Lt. Butler wrote that around 9:00pm on Saturday, May 18th, 2024, he was called to the area of 906 Fountain Street/Route 61 for a hit and run accident involving pedestrians on bicycles.
Lt. Butler arrived to find 3 male juveniles in the driveway of the address.
The juveniles said the 3 of them were riding bicycle along Route 61 northbound when they were struck from behind by a vehicle traveling the same direction.
At the time, they provided a description of the vehicle being a white cargo van.
One of the juveniles was founding laying in the driveway and complained of pain in his left arm. A second had visible scrapes and stated he had pain in his left side but was walking around. The third reported not being injured.
Both boys would be transported by ambulance to an area hospital for their injuries.
At the scene, Lt. Butler found, and photographed evidence left behind by the vehicle involved which included a passenger side mirror, pieces of plastic, and bicycles involved.
Lt. Butler noted that all 3 bicycles involved did not have lamps or reflectors on them as required by law for riding at night.
A "Be on the Lookout" was issued by Butler Township Police for the offending vehicle.
Information was released on social media about the incident and roughly an hour later, Lt. Butler received a notification to contact Newhouser.
Newhouser told Lt. Butler that he was contacted by family regarding the hit and run because he had been travelling home from Frackville around the same time of the incident. He also reported that his passenger side mirror was missing but stated he didn't hit anything.
Lt. Butler went to Newhouser's home where he showed him his red Chevrolet van which is also his business vehicle. Lt. Butler observed the missing passenger side mirror as well as damage to the front passenger side quarter panel. A large scratch was also on the passenger door which appeared to be fresh.
Lt. Butler had the mirror and pieces of the offending vehicle with him and compared them to Newhouser's van. Butler wrote that they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Newhouser's van was impounded for further investigation.
Newhouser told Lt. Butler that he did not recall hitting anything or seeing anyone traveling on bicycles when he travelled home.
On Sunday morning, Butler Township Police were contacted by a witness of the incident. The witness stated that he saw a red van driving northbound and the juveniles falling from their bikes. The witness also provided a description of the van matching Newhouser's.
Newhouser would provide his written statement to the incident, on Sunday morning where he told police that he never saw anyone or felt hitting anything. He also stated that if he knew he had hit anyone, he would have stopped.
On Monday morning, Chief Christopher Hand processed Newhouser's impounded vehicle and positively identified that the car parts left behind at the scene were from the vehicle.
As of Wednesday morning, online court information showed that a preliminary hearing was still being scheduled.