State College man charged in Penns Valley hit-and-run that killed a 23-year-old Amish man
A State College man was charged Thursday in connection with a hit-and-run that left a Penns Valley man dead.
The accusation filed against Chris Hort, 53, capped a monthslong state police at Rockview investigation into the death of John David King.
King, 23, died April 17 of blunt force trauma after he was hit by a 2012 Honda Pilot along state Route 45 in Penn Township. His death was ruled accidental by the Centre County coroner’s office.
The investigation hastened after Hort’s lawyer, Tony De Boef, called county District Attorney Bernie Cantorna days after the crash.
De Boef told Centre County’s top prosecutor that Hort was involved in a crash, but believed he hit a deer, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Hort in an interview with officers reiterated his belief that he hit a deer, but said he did not stop and continued back to Happy Valley because he believed his tire would deflate, police wrote.
A lack of cellphone coverage was another reason Hort told officers he did not stop, but police said information pulled from Hort’s phone did not back that up.
Hort made or received six calls about the time of the crash. Geographic information also showed Hort was “in close proximity to the scene,” police wrote.
Officers also pored over Hort’s internet history and found he read a Centre Daily Times article about the crash the next morning. He also searched the state police website to gather information about the crash, police wrote.
“Despite extraordinary damage to Hort’s vehicle, Hort failed — by his own admission — to stop at the scene of this collision as required by law,” police wrote. “Hort’s consciousness of guilt is apparent in his acts of accessing news and social media accounts of the hit-and run.”
De Boef declined to comment Thursday.
Hort, who is former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s son-in-law, was charged with one felony count of a crash involving death.
He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Tom Jordan, who released him and set bail at $50,000 unsecured. Hort’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 3:19 PM.