Suspect arraigned in fatal accident
MASONTOWN – Hardly a day went by in Masontown without the familiar sight of Gloria Shotts and her daughter Kim Shotts walking around town to get a little exercise. Wednesday was no different until shortly after 5 p.m., when, police said, a drunken driver ended the women’s leisurely stroll and Gloria Shotts’ life.
Police charged Roger Lee Schartiger, 37, of Masontown with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances, two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, two counts of accidents involving death or injury while not properly licensed and two counts of recklessly endangering another person. Police also filed a number of traffic citations.
Schartiger was arraigned Thursday before District Justice Randy S. Abraham in Fairchance and was committed to the Fayette County Prison in lieu of $250,000 cash bond.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday before Masontown District Justice Brenda K. Cavalcante.
Gloria Shotts, 57, of Masontown died shortly after the incident in Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., and Kim, 37, also of Masontown, was listing in serious condition Thursday in Ruby.
“They walked all the time,” borough police officer Joseph C. Ryan said. “Not a day went by when you can’t find them walking.”
They were walking along West Church Avenue at 5:19 p.m. when Schartiger allegedly struck them, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed by Ryan.
“The impact was tremendous,” Ryan said, noting that the women were found lying on the road 107 feet away from the point of impact.
Witnesses told Ryan that the older model black Ford with a white man driving alone accelerated away from the scene, heading east on West Church Avenue after hitting the women. They also told the officer that the car had extensive front-end and right-side damage, according to the affidavit.
Neighboring police departments were asked to be on the lookout for the car, and Brownsville police officer Autumn H. Fike spotted the suspect vehicle approaching her marked patrol car.
She stopped the car on Tunnel Hill Road in Springhill Township around 6:45 p.m. and took Schartiger into custody.
Ryan’s affidavit states that Schartiger told Fike: “I didn’t do anything. They walked out in front of me.”
Schartiger also told Fike his license was suspended from a previous DUI incident and that he didn’t stop at the scene of Wednesday’s accident because was drunk, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also says Schartiger had slurred speech, an unstable walk and a strong odor of alcohol, and he had an open can of beer in the center console of his car and two cases of beer in the back seat.
When Schartiger was being taken into custody on Tunnel Hill Road, his younger brother, James E. Schartiger, 36, also of Masontown, arrived and was arrested for allegedly interfering with police. Fairchance police officer Ken Bittinger charged him with obstructing administration of law, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
Bittinger’s affidavit says the younger Schartiger was told to leave several times before he tried pushing his way past Fike.
When Fike told Schartiger he was under arrest, he broke loose and Bittinger intervened, but Schartiger pushed Bittinger against a car. Smithfield police officers then assisted and the man eventually was subdued.
Meanwhile, Gloria Shotts’ body was released to Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip E. Reilly, who said he will schedule a full autopsy and toxicology tests with Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht’s office.
Reilly said the preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma by a moving vehicle. He said Shotts suffered trauma arrest, which means she stopped breathing and lost blood pressure, during the flight to Ruby.
Medical personnel tried to revive her in the helicopter and in the hospital, Reilly said.
Ryan said state police in Uniontown and Luzerne Township police also assisted. Volunteer fire departments from Masontown, Smithfield and Ronco responded, along with Southwest EMS.
Gloria Shotts was born Dec. 30, 1943, in Uniontown, a daughter of August and Gladys (Tate) Mish, who preceded her in death.
She was a graduate of German Township High School, class of 1961, and was employed with Girard’s Cleaners of Masontown.
Surviving are her husband of 37 years, Carl W. Shotts Jr.; their children, Kimberly S. Shotts, at home, and friend, Mark Davis of Smithfield; Carl W. Shotts III, at home and friend, Angie Posvech of Masontown; and Lisa A. (Shotts) Madison and husband, James Madison; of Hopwood; two sisters, Joanne Sahady of Dry Tavern, and Rose Radvansky of North Olmstead, Ohio; dear mother-in-law Ann “Nanny” Shotts of Masontown; a sister-in-law, Marilyn Gamon, and husband, Gerome, of Warren, Ohio; a brother-in-law, Jimmy Shotts, and wife, Tammy, of Virginia Beach, Va.; and many nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received in the Haky Funeral Homes Inc., 515 N. Main St., Masontown, Sunday and Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., and Tuesday until 9:30 a.m., when prayers of transfer will be said, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m., in All Saints Roman Catholic Church, with the Rev. Fr. James F. Bump as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Agnes Cemetery, Leckrone.