After naming a suspect for the first time Friday morning, Feb. 7, Western Lebanon County Regional police have released details of a Jan. 7 hit-and-run in Palmyra Borough that seriously injured a woman.
As of Sunday morning, police had not announced that the suspect, Tyreef Spears, was caught, nor had they said whether he might still be in the area.
According to an affidavit filed before Magisterial District Judge David Warner on Friday, the incident began at 4:17 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, when dispatchers received a telephone report of an accident with injuries at Locust and Pine Streets, where one of the vehicles had struck a home. The caller said the operator of that immobilized vehicle had fled on foot.
Patrolman Frank Bucsi wrote in the affidavit that responding officers learned the suspect, described as a black man about 30 years old wearing a plaid sweatsuit, had been seen running toward Pine Street Elementary School, about a block and a half away.
An initial search in the area of the school was unsuccessful, but one officer reported briefly seeing a man matching the description running east on Campbelltown Road before losing sight of him.
At the crash scene, officers found a gray Honda CRV with New Jersey temporary tags and heavy front end damage. It had struck the front of a house at 200 West Pine Street. According to Busci, “this was determined to be the striking vehicle that was driven by the now fleeing suspect.” Bucsi did not identify the Honda’s owner.
Neighborhood video showed the Honda speeding through two stop signs shortly before the collision. A search of the Honda uncovered “a pouch of marijuana,” according to Bucsi.
A heavily-damaged Toyota Camry was found in the middle of the intersection. Police learned that a woman driver and her grandson were in the car when it was struck. No ages were given.
According to Bucsi’s affidavit, “they were both transported to Hershey Medical Center. [The woman] was being treated for a broken femur, broken hip, broken ribs, a broken thumb and a concussion. She was admitted to the hospital for several nights and required multiple surgeries.” Bucsi did not mention any injuries to the grandson.
A Campbelltown Road resident later called police and reported a black male wearing a plaid sweatsuit hiding in his trash can. According to Bucsi, the suspect “took off running east when [the resident] opened the can.”
Police located the Honda’s key in the trash can.
Back at Pine Street Elementary, video provided by the school showed a suspect matching the fleeing driver’s description “running from the scene around the school and then continuing to run eastbound.”
Separate video from Palmyra High School showed the suspect “eventually making it inside [the high school] as the door was open for a swimming event.”
According to Bucsi’s affidavit, “video from the [high] school shows the male suspect getting into a locker room and remaining there for 2 hours, before emerging with a change of clothes.”
Bucsi said that he was able to get a clear picture of the suspect’s face, and that facial recognition software “matched this picture to a booking photo of Tyreef Spears from South Carolina. Spears home address is listed at . . . Queens, NY on his NY ID. He shows having a photo ID only and a suspended license. I found a more recent booking photo from NYPD, and he exactly matched up with the still shot.”
Police also conducted a photo lineup, and two witnesses identified Spears as the fleeing suspect and the man in the garbage can.
Spears is charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors, including felony aggravated assault by vehicle and accidents involving death or personal injury.
A warrant for Spears’ arrest has been issued. As of Saturday, Feb. 8, police had not announced his apprehension.
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