Police Nab Horsham Man in Hit and Run
A Horsham man is accused of hitting a pedestrian at the 7-Eleven store in Hatboro and fleeing the scene.
A Horsham man is facing charges for allegedly hitting a Lansdale woman with his car, causing her to land on the hood and be thrown to the ground, before fleeing the scene.
Timothy Dilanzo, 24, of the 3800 block of Blair Mill Road, was arrested Wednesday at 7:43 a.m. and charged with Accidents Involving Death or Personal Injury; Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property; Simple Assault; Careless Driving; Reckless Driving; Vehicle Entering or Crossing Roadway; Duty to Give Information and Render Aid and Immediate Notice of Accident to Police Department.
Hatboro Police said the charges stem from Dilanzo striking Elizabeth Gannon, 34, of Lansdale with his car while she walked in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven at East Moreland Avenue and York Road in Hatboro. The hit and run occurred at approximately 6:57 a.m., police said.
Gannon was transported from the scene to Abington Memorial Hospital where she was treated and ultimately released for injuries sustained in the collision.
While fleeing the convenience store lot, police said Dilanzo hit two occupied cars that were stopped in traffic on North York Road. Dilanzo then fled northbound on North York Road, police said. The occupants of the vehicles were not injured, according to police.
Witnesses obtained a license plate number for Dilanzo's vehicle. Based on this information, police were able to identify the driver and located the vehicle and driver about 45 minutes later while Dilanzo traveled south on North York Road in Hatboro.
Police said Dilanzo, who was driving a 2006 Nissan Sentra, cut through the parking lot to avoid waiting for the traffic light on East Moreland Avenue at York Road and struck Gannon at that time.
Dilanzo was arraigned Wednesday night by District Judge Francis Bernhardt from Conshohocken and bail was set at $50,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing was scheduled before District Judge Paul N. Leo of Hatboro for Nov. 23, 2012 at 9 a.m.
Diane B.
6:59 am on Friday, November 16, 2012
Technically the 7-11 is located on the corner of West Moreland Avenue.
James Kephart Jr.
5:11 pm on Friday, November 16, 2012
So they caught him! His punishment will likely be no jail time - maybe a week. If you hit someone in your vehicle and you are at fault, from a legal perspective, you should try and get away with it. Our laws rarely add much to the sentence if you leave the scene and get caught. And if he did not hit those other cars on York road, he probably would have gotten away with it!
I am not sure why our legislators would not impose a sentence of at least 3 months for a hit and run. If you are drunk and get into an accident, from a legal perspective, you should definitely try and leave the scene. If you manage to sober up before they catch up with (again, that is if they catch up with), you will get in much less trouble than if you if you stay and are found to be under the influence.
Don't like what I just stated? Then tell your State Representative to do something about it... It's just the way it is in PA.
Danette Pendlebury
1:40 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2012
Did you really need to bring attention to it? The next time a young scared kid does something like this and leaves the scene, it may not be so public, and the injuries could result in death. That is what happens when no one calls for help. Because they left the scene.
Cora Rowe
6:24 pm on Friday, November 16, 2012
He needs to admit his mistakes & take responsibility for everything he's done. Stand up & be a man
Leigh
8:00 pm on Friday, November 16, 2012
Cora - there is no such thing anymore. This guy is a 24 year old loser and will remain so - probably lives at home with mom and dad. You want to avoid a red light so you run a human being over and then flee? there is no excuse for such a pathetic act. James has it right - should be a mandatory sentence for this and it is up to those of us who are fed up to get it done.
JusticeforCorey
2:23 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2012
He's not a loser and no he doesn't live at home with mom&dad. He's actually a dad himself that has been doing everything he can to provide for his child. With that being said yeah he messed up, he may be in a dark place in his life. Is he wrong? Absolutely. Should he pay the consequences? Yes. Hopefully this is a wake up call to him and thank god the woman is okay.
James Kephart Jr.
12:55 pm on Sunday, November 18, 2012
Danette,
I will continue to tell people to do what legally makes the most sense! My hope is that, someday, our legal system is changed in a way that encourages people (or scares them with enough jail time) to remain at the scene under the circumstances I have previously described - today, it does not. And because of that, it should come as no surprise that more and more people make the choice to take their chances by leaving the scene. Todd Stevens has been working on this, but has only minimal support from other lawmakers.
If it were up to me, I would say minimum 1 yr in jail- even if there was no injury. The person leaving the scene could rarely say for sure, that no one was injured. Apparently, a one year mandatory sentence is considered to be an outrageous punishment for such a "minor" offense - so I suggested 3 months. Injury or death and you leave the scene - double the sentence you would have received had you remained at the scene (and the judge and/or jury wouldn't know that detail until preliminary sentencing recommendations had been made - then the X2 law would double that number).
James Kephart Jr.
6:36 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013
"Law said to encourage drunkin drivers to flee".
Maybe someone read our discussion here! I think Theresa should keep score and/or grade posters when someone is consistently ahead of the curve as has been shown here. Although no one likes people that know they know it all...
Theresa? You listening?
Theresa Katalinas
7:09 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013
Mr. Kephart, I'm here, although I'm not sure what you'd like me to do. Could you please clarify?