Perkiomen man faces prison for fleeing crash
NORRISTOWN >> A Perkiomen man who crashed his motorcycle on a Limerick roadway and left his injured passenger behind at the scene faces a stint behind bars.
Anthony Vincent Szostek, 24, of the unit block of Saddle Court, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 4-to-23-months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of accidents involving personal injury — essentially leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious bodily injury — in connection with the 11 p.m. July 12, 2018, crash at North Limerick and Sunset roads in Limerick.
Judge Richard P. Haaz, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Szostek to report to the jail in Lower Providence on Oct. 18 to begin serving the sentence. Szostek is eligible for the
jail’s work release program during his period of incarceration, the judge said.
Szostek also must complete four years’ probation following parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for about six years. The judge ordered Szostek to undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations and to comply with all recommended treatment.
An investigation began when Limerick police responded to the area of North Limerick and Sunset roads after a resident in the area reported hearing a motorcycle crash and “observed the rider of the motorcycle leaving the scene of the accident” northbound on North Limerick Road, according to the arrest affidavit.
The witness advised emergency responders “that the passenger on the motorcycle was left behind and was on the ground injured from hitting a telephone pole,” Limerick Police Officer Kevin McGuigan alleged in the criminal complaint.
Arriving officers found the victim lying on his stomach next to a utility pole and he told police that he was thrown from the motorcycle when it crashed.
“The male then stated that he struck the telephone pole. The male was complaining of pain to his hip and leg,” McGuigan alleged, adding police also noticed the victim had abrasions to his right hand “from sliding on the roadway.”
At the scene, the victim told police that Szostek was the driver of the motorcycle and he told police that he and Szostek had just left the Gravel Pike Inn, according to the criminal complaint.
Plastic debris from the motorcycle was found at the scene, police said.
The victim initially was transported to Paoli Hospital but later was transferred to Thomas Jefferson Hospital “due to the severity of his pelvis injuries he sustained in the accident,” police said.
Court documents indicate police went to Szostek’s residence in the hours after the crash but were unable to locate him. Those documents indicate charges were filed against Szostek on July 13.
Other charges of duty to give information and render aid, failure to notify police of an accident and recklessly endangering another person were dismissed against Szostek as part of the plea agreement in exchange for his guilty plea to the more serious felony charge.