Man accused in fatal Cheltenham hit-and-run denied change of venue

Judge: Terrell Kirby Russell will stand trial in Montgomery County Court

NORRISTOWN >> A Philadelphia man awaiting trial in Montgomery County Court for allegedly leaving the scene without rendering aid after he fatally struck a female pedestrian crossing a Cheltenham roadway has lost his bid for a change of venue on his assertion the crash occurred in Philadelphia.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers denied the change of venue petition filed by Terrell Kirby Russell, 27, of the 8000 block of Fayette Street, who faces charges of accidents involving death or personal injury, failure to give information and render aid, failure to give immediate notice of accident to police, careless driving, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in connection with the 8:12 p.m. Sept. 27, 2020, crash that claimed the life of 30-year-old Shanna Antoinette Hurdle.

The judge ruled in the matter after viewing video surveillance footage that recorded the fatal incident, reviewing relevant and applicable law and hearing arguments from the prosecutor and defense lawyer, according the a court order.

Rogers said prosecutors presented a series of maps, photographs and a video to support their position that venue is proper in Montgomery County for the trial.

“It is undisputed that Cheltenham Township and Montgomery County law enforcement officers conducted the entire investigation into this pedestrian accident,” Rogers wrote in the order. “The court concludes that the Commonwealth has met its burden to show that venue in this matter is proper in Montgomery County.”

Defense lawyer Anthony J. Petrone argued that Cheltenham Avenue is the dividing line between Montgomery County and Philadelphia County with the north side of the avenue being in the county and the south side of the avenue being in Philadelphia. Petrone claimed that the point of impact occurred in Philadelphia and that the proper venue for the trial is in Philadelphia.

“At no time during or after the accident did the vehicle that the defendant was allegedly driving travel into or enter Montgomery County,” Petrone wrote in court papers.

But Assistant District Attorney

Tanner C. Beck argued given the direction of travel by the striking vehicle and the victim’s final resting place that the entire crash occurred in Montgomery County. Beck argued the criminal episode occurred exactly on the boundary line between Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and subsequently, the victim’s body came to a final resting place on the Montgomery County side of the road.

A trial date has not yet been set.

Russell remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail while awaiting trial.

The investigation began when Cheltenham Township police responded to the area for a report of a pedestrian being struck and the striking vehicle fleeing the scene. Arriving officers found Hurdle lying in the westbound left turn lane of Cheltenham Avenue, according to the criminal complaint filed by Cheltenham Detective Sgt. Richard Schaffer and township Police Officer Joseph Morrissey Jr.

“The officers located several broken car parts from the crash and observed a fluid trail leaving the scene,” Schaffer and Morrissey wrote in the criminal complaint.

Officers followed the fluid trail west on Cheltenham Avenue and left onto Upsal Street into Philadelphia and the trail was lost in the area of Upsal Street and Limekiln Pike.

An autopsy determined

Hurdle died of multiple blunt impact injuries.

The crash investigation determined Hurdle was attempting to cross Cheltenham Avenue from the north side of the roadway to the south side of the roadway at the time of the incident. Hurdle crossed both eastbound right turn lanes and the westbound through lane and entered into the center left turn lane when she was struck by a westbound 2020 GMC Acadia, according to the criminal complaint.

Hurdle was catapulted 152 feet upon impact, investigators said.

The Acadia braked upon initial contact but didn’t continue braking while proceeding westbound after the impact, according to court documents. The Acadia then arrived at the point of rest of Hurdle and drove over her body as she was lying in the roadway, investigators alleged.

Investigators recovered broken grill parts from the striking vehicle as well as trim parts bearing General Motors part numbers, which assisted police in identifying the striking vehicle.

Footage from area surveillance cameras recorded the crash sequence as it took place.

During the investigation, authorities gathered a list of all GMC Acadia vehicles owned in Montgomery, Philadelphia, Bucks and Delaware counties and systematically eliminated the vehicles based on trim package information, according to court papers.

Investigators checked more than 100 vehicles during the search.

Investigators then turned to Acadias linked to rental companies that were in the area, which ultimately led them to Russell.

Records obtained from Enterprise Rental revealed Russell had rented the vehicle on Sept. 18, and had not returned it on time, then twice extended the rental contract and still had not returned the vehicle to the rental company by Oct. 13, according to court documents.

Using video footage from local businesses and residential surveillance camera systems, detectives tracked the striking vehicle from fleeing the scene westbound on Cheltenham Avenue, south on Upsal Street, then west on Michener Avenue before losing the vehicle a few blocks from Russell’s residence.

Data obtained from Russell’s cellphone revealed the phone was in the area of Cheltenham Avenue at the time of the crash and the phone traveled the same route after the crash as that depicted in the video surveillance that was obtained, according to the criminal complaint.

Detectives alleged Russell knowingly concealed the GMC vehicle in an attempt to mislead law enforcement during the investigation.

Terrell Kirby Russell