CLEARFIELD – A Morrisdale woman has been accused of fleeing the scene after a fatal crash.
Trooper Nicholas M. Rickerson of the Clearfield-based state police filed a criminal complaint April 19, charging Rhonda Paige Maines, 20, with accidents involving death or personal injury, a felony of the second degree, and three summaries.
On Wednesday Maines waived her right to a preliminary hearing during centralized court at the Clearfield County Jail. Her bail was set at $10,000 unsecured.
The charges stem from a crash that occurred at approximately 9:41 p.m. Aug. 10, 2017 on Deer Creek Road in Graham Township, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Upon arrival to the scene, Rickerson discovered that a vehicle had struck a pedestrian in the northbound lane. The driver had fled the scene, while the pedestrian, identified as Boyd R. Shirey, 77, of Morrisdale, was deceased.
The investigation determined that Shirey was attempting to remove a deer from the roadway. At that time, a 2012-2014 Ford Focus came over the crest of the hill, striking him.
The suspect vehicle was later located and its driver was identified as Maines. She was interviewed by troopers and stated she was driving home and initially thought she had struck a deer before fleeing.
Maines told troopers that she panicked and just wanted to go home. Later she allegedly admitted that as the night went on, she became “pretty sure” that she’d struck a person, not a deer.