Driver who hit woman pedestrian gets fine
A Butler man was sentenced to fines in County Court Thursday, after being charged in connection with a hit-and-run incident that left a Butler woman seriously injured.
Luke J. Sibble, 38, was sentenced to pay court costs and $200 in fines by President Judge Thomas Doerr, pursuant to a plea agreement entered on April 3.
Sibble previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person and summary driving on a suspended license.
He was initially charged with felony aggravated assault, accidents causing death or personal injury while not properly licensed, misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person and summary counts of driving on a suspended license and failure to stop and give information or render aid.
The charges were filed after an incident on Jan. 26, 2017, on Fifth Avenue near the intersection with West New Castle Street.
All remaining charges were dismissed as part of the plea.
Butler police said Sibble was driving a box truck that hit Bobbi Jo Pengryn, 46, at 10:43 p.m. Jan. 26.
Shortly after the accident a passer-by found Pengryn lying on the road and called 911 to report a woman with a broken leg.
No vehicles or people were in the area, but police found drag marks and pieces of black plastic on the road about 15 feet from where the accident occurred, according to court documents.
Pengryn was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital and later transferred to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Her injuries included broken ribs, a broken back, stitches in her head and severe damage to her knee, police said.
Surveillance footage from camera on the outside of the Cunningham Shanor building on West New Castle Street showed a white box truck traveling south on Fifth Avenue. While on camera, the truck allegedly stopped, backed up to allow a pedestrian to roll out from under the front of the truck, drove around the pedestrian and continued south.
An investigation led to the vehicle being found parked in a lot behind a building on West New Castle Street, near Sibble's address on East Jefferson Street. Damage to its plastic grill matched the pieces found at the scene, police said.
Police said Sibble admitted that he hit a woman while driving to work, and told officers he pulled over to check on her and she said she was OK, so he left the scene. When asked why he didn't call 911, he stated that he took off because he was scared.
