DA: North Penn School District groundskeeper fatally struck 83-year-old with work van in Hatfield
Nichloas Shaw, 26, has been charged with careless driving and related offenses in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Hatfield in October 2022.
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office has charged a Hatfield man in a deadly hit-and-run in October.
According to authorities, 26-year-old Nicholas Shaw of Hatfield was charged in connection with a hit-and-run on October 27, 2022, that killed 83-year-old Linford Michener of Hatfield.
Officials say at 3:13 p.m., emergency crews responded to Oak Park Road to find Michener lying unresponsive in a drainage ditch near the road.
He was transported to Abington Lansdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:10 p.m., per police.
The Montgomery County Coroner's Office determined the cause of death was from blunt impact injuries and it was noted the injuries were consistent with having been struck by a vehicle.
Investigators later learned Michener was walking along the road to a fenced-in portion near the back of his property when his wife, who was in the front of the property, heard a van hit something.
According to police, a blue Econoline work van with white roof-mounted ladder racks and a white North Penn School District logo on the passenger door appeared in surveillance video from a nearby homeowner.
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Authorities say a van matching the description was found parked at the North Penn School District Facilities parking lot with fresh damage to the hood and passenger side of the vehicle.
The DA's Office says records show the van was being used by Shaw, a groundskeeper for the district, at Pennfield Middle School, which is less than two miles from the crash scene.
Officials say surveillance video from Pennfield Middle School shows Shaw getting into the van at 3:02 p.m. and there is no damage to the vehicle. At 3:11 p.m., the car was spotted on surveillance video from another school district building and clear damage is seen on the vehicle, per police.
Investigators say Shaw was driving the Econoline van carelessly when he struck Michener, fled the scene, failed to provide aid and failed to report the crash.
Shaw has been charged with careless driving and related offenses.