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The month-long investigation led to the arrest of Todd Frey, 55, of Manchester (York County), on charges including accidents involving death or personal injury and careless driving, Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams and South Heidelberg Township Police Chief Leon Grim said a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Frey was driving his employer's box truck on Aug. 26 when he hit Robert L. "Lynn" Hatt and his dog, Scout as they crossed Penn Avenue at Robeson Street in Robesonia, authorities said.
Frey reportedly told investigators that he saw some debris in the roadway and steered to avoid it, but he denied hitting anyone. According to a GPS in Frey's truck, authorities learned he was driving 40 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone at the time of the crash, Grim said.
It was not long before a 19-year-old witness saw Hatt lying motionless on the ground and dialed 911. That is when a car and a tanker truck drove over Hatt, authorities said.
Those drivers also did not stop at the scene.
Both Hatt and the dog were pronounced dead at the scene around 4:40 a.m., police said.
During the investigation, the driver of the car, a 71-year-old woman from Womelsdorf, told investigators she ran over something while driving around two stopped vehicles, but mistook it for a "deer or a dog," according to Grim.
She was charged with duty to give information and render aid.
However, the driver of the tanker truck, a 63-year-old man from Alburtis (Lehigh County), is not facing any charges.
Authorities believe he did not see Hatt or realize his truck ran over him because his tanker was loaded with 96,000 pounds of product, according to Grim.
If charged with a felony of the third degree, Frey would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days imprisonment and a $1,000 fine, according to DA Adams.
If he is found involved in a felony of the second degree, with proof that the initial impact killed Hatt, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of three years imprisonment and a $2,500 fine, DA Adams said.
Grim stated that they had "received more help than they had hoped for" from the community, whose witness statements and surveillance videos greatly aided in identifying those involved.
Born in Reading, Hatt was a 1971 graduate of Conrad Weiser High School and served in the United States Army, according to his obituary.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Susan L. (Helwig) Hatt, his son Seth M. Hatt, his two granddaughters, Layla and Brooklyn Hatt, his three brothers Bill, Dale, and Mark Hatt, their wives, and his nieces and nephew.
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