Man arrested in Pa. hit-and-run case

The crash victim was still in intensive care, St. Elizabeth hospital said.

staff report

MERCER, Pa. — State police have made an arrest in the hit-and-run case critically injured an Amish man.

Timothy F. Alter, 29, of Transfer, Pa., was arrested Tuesday and arraigned at District Justice James McMahon’s office in Sharon, police reported.

He is charged with hit-and-run involving death or injury. Police discovered his driver’s license is suspended, and the suspension is DUI-related, according to an affidavit of probable cause on file at McMahon’s office.

Erven Byler, 22, of Hartstown in Crawford County was driving his horse-drawn buggy at 12:50 a.m. Monday on Pa. Route 358 in Perry Township, Mercer County, when he was hit from behind. He was thrown 50 feet from the buggy and his horse was killed, police have reported.

Byler remained in intensive care Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown.

Police put out a description of the vehicle they believe was involved — a full-size 1983-84 Chevrolet van that was blue or gray. They took debris they found at the accident site to a Chevrolet dealer for help identifying the vehicle, the affidavit says.

Police appealed to the public for information, and newspapers published the barracks’ phone number.

On Tuesday, a “concerned citizen” called to say he believed the vehicle was being stored at a garage on Perrine Road in Hadley, the affidavit says. Police went to the residence and saw a van that matched what they were looking for through a garage window. They contacted the homeowner, who signed a consent search, and they seized the van.

Alter was at the residence, and he told a trooper that he wanted to talk about the crash, the affidavit says.

He admitted that he realized he’d hit a buggy, the affidavit says.

Alter was in the Mercer County Prison on Wednesday in lieu of $10,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for May 16 before District Justice Lorinda Hinch in Mercer.