W.Va. driver charged in fatal hit-and-run crash in Fairchance dies day before hearing
Case dismissed following suspect’s death
The case against a West Virginia motorist accused of fatally striking a pedestrian with his car in Fayette County and driving off earlier this year was dismissed after he died over the weekend just hours before he was scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing.
Stephen Anthony Lemro, 74, died Sunday night at his home near Morgantown, W.Va., according to Fayette County District Mike Aubele, although the cause and manner of his death were not immediately released.
Lemro was scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. Monday for his preliminary hearing before District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr. on felony charges of accident involving death and fleeing police, along with one misdemeanor count of involuntary manslaughter. But after Pennsylvania State Police learned of Lemro’s death, the case against him was withdrawn Monday morning.
Lemro was arrested Aug. 27 after state police said he struck 70-year-old Paula Silvis with his car as she was crossing Morgantown Street near West Church Street in Fairchance. Lemro continued on without stopping, and state police eventually located his vehicle and attempted to stop him, but he led troopers on a brief chase before stopping on Route 857 near Pringle Lane in Georges Township.
“Oh, I hit a person? I thought I hit a deer,” Lemro apparently told troopers after they told him that he struck a pedestrian, according to court documents.
While parked at Shop n’ Save to go grocery shopping, Lemro apparently saw an ambulance drive by, which made him question whether he had actually struck a deer, according to court documents. Silvis was taken by ambulance to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, where she later died.
Lemro was arraigned on the charges the day of the crash, and he was sent to the Fayette County jail on $100,000 cash bond. He posted bond the following day and had been free while awaiting his case to proceed through the courts.
Attorneys for Lemro could not be reached for comment Monday. No obituary had been posted for Lemro as of Monday afternoon.