Driver arrested in connection to fatal hit and run in October

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The Montgomery County District Attorney and Hatfield Township Police Chief have announced the arrest of a man for the fatal hit-and-run of an 83-year-old man on October 27, 2022.

26-year-old Nicholas Shaw, has been charged with the fatal hit-and-run killing of 83-year-old Linford Michener of Hatfield.

The incident occurred on Thursday, October 27th, at 3:13 p.m., when Hatfield police and emergency personal responded Oak Park Road in Hatfield to find Mr. Michener lying unresponsive in a drainage ditch near the road.

Mr. Michener was transported to Abington Lansdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:10 p.m.

The Montco Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy which confirmed the cause of death was “blunt impact injuries.” Dr. Khalil Wardak noted that the injuries were consistent with having been struck by a motor vehicle, stated a press release from the DA’s office.

An investigation by Hatfield Police found that Mr. Michener was walking along the roadway to a fenced-in portion near the back of his home. According to police, his wife was outside weeding a different area of their property when she heard a van hit something. Police were able to locare surveillance video from a nearby homeowner, which showed the hit came from a blue Econoline work van with white roof-mounted ladder racks and a white North Penn School District logo on the passenger door.

A ban with a matching description was found at the North Penn School District Facilities secure parking lot. And upon investigation, the van was found to have fresh damage to the hood and passenger side of the vehicle.

School District records were obtained, and showed that van was being operated by groundskeeper, Nicholas Shaw, on the day of the crash.

Shaw was assigned to cut grass on the day of the crash at Pennfield Middle School, which is approximately 1.5 miles from the crash site.

Further surveillance video obtained from Pennfield Middle School shows the Shaw getting into the blue van at 3:02 p.m., with no visible damage to the van. When the Van returned at 3:11 p.m. and there was clear visible damage to the van.

The investigation by the District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Hatfield Police Police Chief William J. Tierney, found that Shaw had driven the Econoline van with careless disregard for the safety of other persons or property, and that after striking Mr. Michener, he fled the scene, failed to provide aid to the victim and failed to report the crash to police, as required by law, said the press release.

Shaw has been charged with: