N.E. Philly woman charged in Bucks fatal hit-run
A 32-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman has been charged in what authorities have called a fatal hit-and-run last year in Bensalem, Bucks County.
A 32-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman has been charged in what authorities have called a fatal hit-and-run last year in Bensalem, Bucks County.
Jennifer Coyle was charged Wednesday and appeared before a magisterial district judge for her preliminary arraignment on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, driving under the influence of alcohol and related offenses, her attorney, Louis Busico, confirmed Thursday.
She was then released on unsecured bond.
Coyle is accused of hitting Andrew Miller, 29, of Bensalem, who was walking on State Road near Mill Road on the evening of Oct. 27.
Miller's body was found by a passing motorist about 8 a.m. the next morning along the shoulder of the northbound lane of State Road.
Busico said Coyle, who is a married mother of two children, knew she had hit something that night, but didn't know she hit a person.
"Ms. Coyle had absolutely no idea she struck a human being," Busico said.
"She struck something on State Road that evening," Busico said. "There's no issue that she stopped, she looked in the area and she saw nothing. It was dark, it was inclement weather. She then left the scene. She then told her husband and father, 'I hit something on State Road. I don't know what it was.'"
Busico said Coyle's husband and father then went to State Road that night and "saw nothing."
"This is a horrible accident, but it is not a crime," Busico said.
Asked if Coyle was drinking that night, Busico said: "At this time, it's prudent to wait and see what evidence develops in this case."
He said Coyle currently works as a respiratory therapist.
Police have said that the driver of the striking vehicle contacted authorities on the morning of the news reports. They said Miller was apparently walking on the shoulder when a vehicle driving north hit him.
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