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Nicholas M. Shaw, 26, of Hatfield, is charged with a felony for the hit-and-run that killed Linford Michener on his own property on Oct. 27, said District Attorney Kevin R. Steele in a statement Friday, Jan. 13.
Investigators say 83-year-old Michener was walking along Oak Park Road in Hatfield to access a fenced-in area of his land at about 3 p.m. when his wife heard a large crash. By 3:13 p.m., first responders found Michener unresponsive in a ditch on the side of the road.
The senior was rushed to Abington Lansdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead due to blunt impact injuries at 4:10 p.m.
Michener's wife told detectives she saw a blue and white commercial van flee the scene after hearing the crash. Police obtained security camera footage from a neighbor and learned that the van belonged to the North Penn School District.
At the district's parking lot, authorities found a van with damage to its front end consistent with the accident that killed Michener. Prosecutors said Shaw was a groundskeeper with the district and was assigned to cut the grass that day at Pennfield Middle School, just a mile and a half from the scene of the accident.
Security footage at the parking lot showed the 26-year-old drive off with the van that morning, and return a little after 3 p.m. with fresh damage to the hood, the DA said.
He's charged with causing an accident resulting in death, a felony, and summary offenses of failure to render aid, failure to report, and careless driving, court records show.
"The North Penn School District is fully cooperating with local law enforcement regarding a criminal investigation involving one of our employees, a school district maintenance vehicle, and a tragic event," school officials said in a statement Friday.
"We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the victim and those impacted by this tragedy. As it is an ongoing investigation, no further information can be provided."
They did not say if Shaw had been fired.
He is due back before a Montgomery County judge for his preliminary hearing on Jan. 24.
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