SAXONBURG — At a preliminary hearing held Tuesday, Aug. 4, Shawn Nelson shared his story of what happened when his 19-year-old son, Dominic Nelson, was struck multiple times by a U-Haul truck operated by his landlord, 74-year-old Dennis E. Wolff, of Freeport.

Wolff faces charges of felony aggravated assault and accidents involving death or personal injury; as well as simple assault, reckless driving and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in relation to the incident which occurred Monday night, July 20, outside Nelson’s residence at a trailer park on Carol Drive in Saxonburg.

According to Nelson’s testimony, the incident began after Nelson arrived in a vehicle and noticed Wolff parked near his residence with a U-Haul, along with signs his residence had been “ransacked.” Nelson stated several valuable items each worth hundreds of dollars, including power tools, had been taken.

Shawn and Dominic Nelson and Shawn’s wife, Sara Allenberg, were in the car when it arrived at the residence. According to Shawn Nelson’s testimony, shortly after arriving on the scene, he shouted at Wolff to stay where he was and wait for police to arrive. However, not long after, Wolff allegedly backed up the U-Haul to leave the scene.

He testified he then heard his son shout he had been hit by the truck. At the time, Dominic Nelson was on the opposite end of the truck from his father, who testified he didn’t see the initial impact between his truck and son.

However, he testified he did see his son’s body come out from behind the bottom of the U-Haul and that Wolff stopped the truck long enough to pick up Dominic Nelson’s hat and throw it away before continuing forward.

“(Wolff) hit the gas, but not enough to spin the tires,” Shawn Nelson said.

He added he cradled his son’s head and neck shortly after the collision and testified Dominic Nelson said, “Daddy, don’t let me die.”

Although it was initially uncertain that Dominic Nelson would survive his injuries, he was recently released from the intensive care unit at a Pittsburgh hospital.

Dominic Nelson, 19. Submitted photo.

Shawn Nelson said the incident occurred in front of at least five other witnesses who he said were screaming.

Nelson added he had been Wolff’s tenant for four years and he was surprised the incident happened.

“I was more confused that my landlord had done this,” Nelson said. “I’ve been paying rent every month for four years. ... The whole incident was about 30 seconds.”

In his testimony, he noted when his vehicle was parked, it had at least partially blocked the route for the U-Haul to back out of the driveway.

Saxonburg police officer Jeff Sneddon, who responded to the incident, also testified at Tuesday’s hearing and corroborated Nelson’s story regarding the number of witnesses who saw the collision took place.

“(It was) chaos,” Sneddon said. “Five to six people were screaming that a person was run over. It was getting extremely rowdy outside.”

By the time he arrived, Dominic Nelson was “barely alive,” Sneddon testified.

Nelson said that after Wolff first struck Dominic Nelson, multiple bystanders began shouting at Wolff to stop the vehicle and a person had been struck before Wolff continued on his way.

Wolff’s defense attorney, Joel L. Hills, disputed the charge of felony aggravated assault, arguing Wolff did not intentionally hit Dominic Nelson and that his view was most likely obstructed.

He also argued many, if not all, of the circumstances of the incident may have been caused or worsened by Shawn Nelson’s confrontation with Wolff and confusion caused by the large crowd that had gathered at the site.

“This was a horrible circumstance and it was a horrible circumstance that was created by Mr. Nelson and his son,” Hills said. “I think this is a simple assault, if anything.”

However, in his closing statement, prosecuting attorney Andrew Calve dismissed the idea, stating a felony aggravated assault charge does not strictly require the defendant to have intentionally committed the act — only that the defendant acted recklessly.

District Judge Jack Ripper held the charges for court. A formal arraignment for Wolff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 22.