Charges have been filed in an early Christmas Eve morning crash on the Parkway North that injured a pedestrian.
Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Rocco Gagliardi said Jeremy Michael Smith, who is not yet in custody, was charged with accidents involving injury, which is a third degree felony, and several traffic violations.
The crash happened around 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve, when a Ford Focus attempted to pull off the roadway after their car was disabled. A passerby pulled over to assist the driver move the disabled car. A black Dodge Ram 1500 struck the driver of the Ford Focus as he was pushing the truck.
Gagliardi said Wednesday that the man hit lost his leg. After the crash, his family rallied together to get answers and offered a $10,000 reward, which Gagliardi say made a “big difference” in the investigation.
Gagliardi said on the day of the crash, investigators found debis, and they were later able to connect that debris to Smith’s vehicle — a 2021 Dodge Ram. Then, investigators used license plate readers to track the truck’s movements. Through the video from those readers, investigators were able to see that the truck had no damage in the days before crash, but there was damage matching the debris found at the scene in the days after the crash.
Then, after the reward was announced, multiple tips came into PSP. Gagliardi said the tips were photos taken by Smith of the crash and messages he sent “bragging” about the crash to his friends. In at least one of the texts, Smith stated he had been drinking before the crash, and was “not drunk” but “switching bars” when the crash happened.
The final notable investigative effort, Gagliardi said, was teaming up with Ross Township Police Department to canvas body shops to try and find Smith’s truck. The truck was located and has since been seized as evidence.
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