A Scranton man who left the scene after striking a pedestrian with a vehicle before ultimately turning himself in to police faces a felony charge.
Keon Lee Taylor, 18, struck the pedestrian in a crosswalk Thursday morning at 13th Avenue and Luzerne Street, outside West Scranton High School, police wrote in charging documents. He slowed down at a posted stop sign but did not stop completely before hitting the pedestrian with the front driver’s-side corner of the vehicle, police said.
Taylor remained on scene for a “short period” but did not exchange information or tend to the struck pedestrian, who was moved to the sidewalk by onlookers, according to an affidavit of probable cause. A person who observed the crash through a school window identified Taylor as the driver.
Police were unable to find Taylor at multiple locations before he turned himself in, telling police he hadn’t seen the pedestrian until he heard the impact. Taylor also told police he initially exited the vehicle to check on the victim.
“At that time he began to panic and decided to pull down the street and call his mother,” the affidavit notes. “He stated he never pulled over and fled the scene driving to his girlfriend’s house. He parked the vehicle in her garage and made contact with his mother. After he decided to turn himself in at (police) HQ.”
The pedestrian was taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Dickson City, charging documents note.
Taylor faces a third-degree felony charge for leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, a misdemeanor charge for failing to stop and give information and render aid, and summary driving offenses.
He was released on unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.