Upper Southampton Police: Hit-and-run driver “too scared” to see what he hit

The Upper Southampton man who allegedly struck and killed a 15-year-old girl Monday night was too scared too find out what he’d struck with his vehicle that he fled the scene, he told police after his arrest.

Christopher James Strouse drove his grandmother’s SUV home to his grandmother’s house after checking the damage to the Ford Explorer, police said. The 24-year-old told police he believed he’d struck a trash can or mailbox, but also admitted to a “gut feeling he may have struck something other than a mailbox or trash can,” and was “afraid at that time to go back and look,” according to court records.

Strouse, of Hilltop Road in Upper Southampton, is in county prison on $1 million bail after his arraignment on a felony charge of being in an accident involving death and related offenses.

The “mailbox or trash can” he believed he’d struck was actually two 15-year-old girls who had been walking along talking about boys. One, Chelsea Lynn Lancieri, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other, Jessica Jenkins, watched her friend killed.

“We had just switched sides and she’s talking to me, and all of sudden something hit my arm and she’s halfway down the street, lying there,” Jessica told the Courier Times Tuesday.

According to court records, Strouse told police he’d left his grandmother’s house to pickup cigarettes at a store on Maple Avenue and Street Road about 5 p.m. He said made a right from Stahl Road to Maple Avenue when a car with bright headlights passed in the opposite direction as he plugged in his cell phone charger. He “heard a thud on the front passenger side of his vehicle” and saw “something going over the front of the passenger side hood,” according to court records.

He told police he accelerated down Maple Avenue to a bank parking lot and pulled over to look at the damage before heading back to his grandmother’s house. About an hour later, his curiosity got to him and Strouse said he rode a borrowed bicycle to the accident scene and saw police, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, according to court records. Realizing he hit something other than a mailbox or trash can, Strouse went home and called a relative, according to police.

Meanwhile, police collected pieces of a shattered turn signal that they discovered was consisten with 1991 to 1994 Ford Explorers. That information was turned over to the media and about two hours after a Fox 29 newscast the tips started coming in, Detective Craig Rudisill said. One tipster pointed police to Strouse’s grandmother’s SUV and when police spoke to her they learned he’d been driving at the time of the accident and the vehicle had damage in the area that struck the two girls. On Tuesday night Strouse met police at his grandmother’s house, was questioned at police headquarters and arrested.

Strouse was arraigned by District Judge Robert Wagner shortly after midnight Wednesday on the felony charge as well as failing to give information and render aid after an accident and failing to notify police of an accident. Lancieri and Jenkins’ families were in the courtroom for the brief appearance and expressed relief.

“We’re glad they got him less than 24 hours later,” Steven Jenkins said. “Its absolutely a relief.”

Jenkins, Lancieri and the Ault family members said they were grateful that the tipsters came forward and praised Rudisill and the Upper Southampton police for helping them through a difficult time.

“I can’t say enough good things about [Rudisill],” Jenkins said.

Police said that there’s no evidence Strouse was under the influence of any substances at the time of the accident. And too much time passed between the accident and his arrest for any blood tests to reveal evidence. However, they said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Upper Southampton police at 215-364-5000.

Article printed from Courier Times Now: blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/bcct
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Posted By Crime reporter Ben Finley On November 5, 2008 @ 11:54 am In News

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