With the investigation ongoing, search warrants offer new details about fatal Bellefonte hit-and-run
A pair of search warrants filed by state police at Rockview offered new information about a fatal hit-and-run last month in downtown Bellefonte.
Stephanie Wilson, 36, died July 22 of head trauma after she was hit by a Dodge Ram 2500 near the intersection of North Allegheny Street and East High Street, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers wrote in a July news release. Her death was ruled accidental.
The driver, who has not been charged, was interviewed by police after he fled and told his girlfriend he “thought he hit a lady by the (Centre County) Courthouse,” police wrote.
The driver, who did not show signs of impairment during the interview, told officers he did not see Wilson before he hit her. He later exited his vehicle to check on her, panicked after seeing her condition and drove to his girlfriend’s apartment, police wrote.
Officers also reviewed video recorded by a camera mounted on the Centre County Courthouse Annex, which confirmed the driver ran to check briefly on Wilson before driving away, police wrote.
Police inspected the driver’s vehicle and analyzed his cellphone as part of the ongoing investigation, according to the search warrants.
The fatal crash is one of at least two under investigation by state police at Rockview.
John David King, 23, died in April after he was hit by a Honda Pilot in Penn Township. The driver, who has not been charged, told police he thought he struck a deer and did not stop because his tire might deflate.
The investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 12:01 PM.