CANTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A 70-year-old man is in critical condition after police say he was struck by a car while crossing Grove Avenue with groceries on Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators say the victim, identified as Robert Pebley, a retired professor, was walking with his cane when he was hit. Surveillance video shows his groceries flying into the air at the moment of impact.
Peebles was flown to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, including two broken legs, broken ankles, broken ribs, a broken spine and a collapsed lung. His wooden cane was found snapped in half in the road.
Police say the driver kept going.
“She did not stop and render aid, that’s correct,” said Greene Washington Regional Police Chief William DeForte. “This hit-and-run really rocked the community.”
Less than 24 hours later, police tracked down the vehicle with heavy damage to the windshield and bumper.
Officers arrested Gina Dalessandro, who police say admitted to being behind the wheel. According to investigators, Dalessandro told them she thought she had hit a deer and admitted she had fallen asleep a couple of times while driving home that afternoon.
“If you were to strike an object the way that vehicle did, you would have immediately stopped,” Chief DeForte said.
Police say Pebley was thrown into the air and landed on the windshield.
“The damage was extensive,” DeForte added. “For someone to hit that hard and continue driving down the road, it’s not even within social norms or standards.”
Township supervisors announced a $500 reward for information on Thursday morning, but police made an arrest just before the reward was announced.
Pebley’s family tells Channel 11’s Cara Sapida that he is well known in the community for walking through town with his cane.
He remains in the ICU.
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