NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A Hatfield man and a Philadelphia man have both been arrested in connection to separate fatal accidents in Montgomery County.
Nicholas Shaw, 26, of Hatfield is accused of killing 83-year-old Linford Michener in a hit-and-run last October in Hatfield. And Craig Coleman, 55, of Philadelphia, is accused of reckless driving that resulted in the death of 82-year-old Richard Sitek of Conshohocken in December.
Hatfield police say Shaw was driving a North Penn School District van when he hit Michener from behind on Oct. 27, 2022. Michener was walking along the edge of his property on Oak Park Road near Koffel Road. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.
His wife told police she was outside at the time, heard the van hit something and saw it slow down before it drove away. She described the van as a blue and white work van, there were words on the side, but she couldn’t make out what they said. She didn’t realize her husband had been fatally injured at the time.
Police found video from a nearby home that showed a North Penn School District logo on the side of the van. With help from district officials, they found the van in the district facilities lot, with damage to the front passenger side.
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District officials told police that Shaw was driving the van, while working with the groundskeeping crew. Investigators say video from the school district’s facilities lot shows Shaw getting in and out of the van at times that match up with the time Michener was hit.
Shaw is facing a felony charge of accidents involving death or injury and summary offenses including failure to render aid and leaving the scene. Bail is set at $10,000, unsecured.
His lawyer says they express their sympathy to Michener’s family, but they have not received any information regarding the case so they cannot comment any further.
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In the case involving Coleman, Conshohocken police say, they responded to a two-car crash, with injuries, on Dec. 21 at Fayette Street and 7th Avenue, where they found Sitek trapped and unresponsive in his green 2001 Buick LeSabre. He was pronounced dead about two hours later.
Coleman was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital.
An investigation found that Coleman had slammed his black 2020 Toyota Camry into the passenger side of Sitek's Buick, after speeding up on Fayette Street to pass a Jeep he had been tailgating, and sailing into the intersection at Seventh Avenue, at 42 mph in a 25 mph zone, just as Sitek was passing through in the cross traffic.
Investigators say if Coleman had been driving at the posted speed limit, Sitek would have made it through before he got there.
Coleman is accused of homicide by vehicle, speeding and other related offenses, and police say he was driving without a valid driver’s license. Bail was set at $100,000, 10%, on Thursday and then reduced to $99,000, 10%, on Friday, under conditions that prohibit him from driving or contacting Sitek's family.
Preliminary hearings for both men are scheduled for Jan. 24.