Centre County man charged in connection with fatal 2020 crash in downtown Bellefonte
A Curtin Township man was accused Monday of causing a fatal 2020 crash in downtown Bellefonte.
Brandon Deitz, 36, was accused of hitting Stephanie Wilson with his Dodge Ram 2500 in July at the intersection of North Allegheny and West High streets, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Wilson, 36, died of head trauma, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said. Her death was ruled accidental.
Deitz told officers he did not see Wilson when he hit her. He checked on her condition, but left without offering aid because he was “scared and nervous,” police wrote.
A woman called 911 on Deitz’s behalf less than 10 minutes after the crash, police wrote.
Deitz was driving about 22 mph when he hit Wilson, police estimated after reconstructing the crash. Multiple bandannas that hung from Deitz’s rearview mirror partially obstructed his view, police wrote.
Deitz “brought his truck to an almost immediate stop upon impact,” police wrote.
“The delay in this case was because we were waiting on an accident reconstruction by the Pennsylvania State Police to determine whether there should be any additional charges that would be appropriate — was there reckless conduct that would have warranted other charges?” Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said. “You’ll note that there aren’t any other charges that would amount to recklessness.”
Deitz was charged with one felony count of an accident where the victim dies and five summary traffic violations. A defense lawyer was not listed.
He was arraigned Monday by District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker, who released Deitz on $50,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.
This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 3:23 PM.