Norristown man accused of fatal hit-and-run faces trial
NORRISTOWN » A Norristown man must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that he was driving the vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian, a 67-year-old Vietnam veteran, and failed to stop to render aid.
Nemias Perez Severiano, 31, of the 200 block of East Main Street, was ordered to stand trial after a recent preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Gregory Scott on charges of accidents involving death or personal injury while not properly licensed, recklessly endangering another person, careless and reckless driving, failure to give immediate notice of accident and failure to give information and render aid in connection with the 6:24 p.m. Nov. 10, 2019, pedestrian crash that killed Samuel W. Jackson, of Norristown.
Severiano, who remains in the county jail in lieu of $200,000 cash bail, now faces a formal arraignment on the charges in county court on March 25, at which time a trial date could be set.
Judge William R. Carpenter will preside over the case. Assistant District Attorney Allison Ruth is prosecuting the case. Defense lawyer Andrew Joseph Levin represents Severiano.
If he’s convicted of the charges at trial, Severiano faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.
The investigation began when Norristown police responded to the area of Astor and West Oak streets for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.
“Responding officers were advised that the striking vehicle fled the scene and was not on location,” Norristown detectives Charles Leeds and Stephen Sowell alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Arriving officers found an unresponsive Jackson lying in the street in the 600 block of Astor Street and he was transported to Mercy Suburban Hospital. Jackson was pronounced dead at 6:59 p.m., according to court papers.
A subsequent autopsy determined Jackson died of multiple injuries.
Police located Jackson’s vehicle parked facing southbound along the curb of Astor Street just south of West Oak Street and they observed the driver’s side front door was open. Jackson’s body came to rest in the middle of Astor Street, just south of his vehicle’s location, detectives alleged.
“Mr. Jackson’s shoes and hat were recovered at the scene as the impact exchange knocked his feet from his shoes,” Leeds and Sowell alleged.
The investigation by Norristown and county detectives determined Jackson exited his parked vehicle and was standing near his open driver’s side door when a vehicle came from West Oak Street and made a right turn onto southbound Astor Street.
The front of the striking vehicle struck Jackson, knocking him to the ground and dragging him about 55 feet from point of impact to the center of Astor Street, according to the criminal complaint.
“Due to the violent forces exchanged during impact Mr. Jackson was knocked out of his shoes as well as his glasses and hat being dislodged,” Leeds and Sowell wrote.
Plastic sections from the striking vehicle were recovered at the scene and they were consistent with parts of a Toyota Scion, detectives alleged.
Detectives utilized footage from video surveillance cameras in the area to identify a 2009 Toyota Scion being operated by Severiano.
The vehicle was registered to a relative of Severiano, according to court papers.
When detectives interviewed Severiano on Nov. 11 he stated he had been at the La Poblanita Bar on West Marshall Street between 1 and 6 p.m. and that he consumed seven to eight beers, according to the criminal complaint.
“He informed the detectives that when he left the bar he was ‘a little drunk,’” according to the arrest affidavit.
Severiano allegedly told detectives he left the bar and traveled along Chain Street to Oak Street and when he turned onto Astor Street he “heard a noise,” according to the criminal complaint.
The investigation determined Severiano did not have a valid license to drive at the time of the alleged incident.