Almost 2 years to the day, the Pennsylvania State Police at Frackville have charged a man from Centre County for fleeing the scene of a serious crash he was involved in on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County in 2021.
The charges stem from a crash that occurred in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 near mile marker 129.5 in Mahanoy Township around 5:40pm on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
Troopers say at the time of the crash, a Subaru Outback was traveling south in the left passing lane with a Black medium sized SUV (Possibly a Chevrolet) in the right lane.
The SUV reportedly veered to the left into the Outback twice causing the Subaru to lose control and roll several times. The driver of the Subaru was ejected from the vehicle during the crash with her body landing on the shoulder of the highway.
Witnesses at the scene said the driver of the SUV reportedly stopped and approached one of the injured passengers from Subaru, then re-entered his vehicle and fled the scene, traveling south.
The driver of the Subaru, a female, was flown to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest and was listed in serious condition.
Police said she had sustained a left humerus fracture, a fractured pelvis, a lacerated spleen, a rib fracture, a pneumothorax, and a traumatic injury that required a hemicraniectomy. During her time in the hospital, she became critically ill and had an extended stay in the hospital.
The two other passengers, a male and a female were transported via ambulance with suspected minor injuries.
Two years later, the victims are still dealing with physical and mental trauma from the accident.
On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Thomas Powell filed charges against the driver who fled, Gregory Dubois, 48, of Bellefonte.
Dubois was charged with 3 felony counts of accidents involving death or injury and intimidation of a witness and refraining from reporting, 3 misdemeanor charges for accidents involving death or injury, careless driving, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and other traffic offenses.
According to court documents, Troopers were able to identify Dubois after they received an anonymous tip through Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.
A check on Dubois showed he had a suspended license at the time of the crash and an attempt by Troopers to interview him turned up negative.
Troopers interviewed friends and neighbors of Dubois that stated at the time of the crash, he had called them and said he was involved in a crash, that he had fled, and he was worried the cops would find out. He was also looking for someone to body work to his vehicle.
A check of a body shop found that Dubois had body work done not long after the crash and he paid for the damages with cash not insurance.
Based on the information above from interviews and witness accounts, led to the charges against Dubois.
On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, he was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker, Shenandoah, and released on $50,000 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled before Judge Kilker on August 17, 2023.