Investigation is ongoing into the April 30 hit-and-run in South Lebanon Township that left 77-year-old Casimira Pakola dead.
Pakola was described in her obituary as a woman whose “love pervaded her very being.” She left behind a husband of 57 years, Richard Pakola, as well as five children and nine grandchildren. Her obituary said that she was a member of the Catholic community in Lebanon at St. Gregory and later St. Cecilia since moving here in 1976.
The incident took place shortly after 7:30 a.m. on April 30, when South Lebanon Township Police Department was called to the scene for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.
Officers discovered Pakola dead upon arrival. Police said at the time that the driver of the striking vehicle had fled the scene and that the driver and vehicle was later located. The driver has not yet been publicly identified by police.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, whose office supervises the county’s Serious Traffic Accident Response Team (START), said this week that the investigation is ongoing, and her office continues to meet with South Lebanon police and START.
“We cannot make the final decision as to criminal charges and which are appropriate until the initial investigation is complete,” said DA Hess Graf. “We requested the police and the START Team complete a few additional tasks before we move ahead with the charging decisions.”
Hess Graf said that more information should be available in a couple of weeks, and that her office will first and foremost make sure that the victim’s family is treated with respect.
“We want them to find information out from us versus reading it online or in the paper,” said Hess Graf. “Given the loss they suffered, their involvement is our top priority.”
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